Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Employees of the Department for Combating Smuggling and Customs Audit of the Department of the State Customs Committee for Tashkent region held an operational event in the city of Bekabad, Tashkent region.

A certain citizen, moving through the territory of the border town, noticing that he was being watched, is trying to hide in one of the nearby houses.

In accordance with the established procedure, an inspection of this house was carried out, and when opening the bag that was in the hands of the fugitive trying to escape, 7 birds of prey of the falcon family were found.

In order for the birds not to betray themselves during illegal export, their eyes and paws were tied, and their wings were sealed with tape. They were also tightly packed in the bag, which could be interpreted as cruelty to birds.

Falcons are currently kept in the Tashkent Zoo. On the day of detection, 4 of the birds were in critical condition. After treatment and care from the zoo veterinarians, the condition of the falcons improved significantly.

According to the current procedure, the birds were chipped and entered into the International Register. After 90 days of quarantine, the falcons will be released again.

This species of birds of prey of the falcon family called Balaban is included in the Red Book. They are found mainly in the mountains of the Western Tien Shan and Gissar-Alai, as well as in the Kyzyl Kum desert. The number of balaban is low everywhere. The Balaban population in the world is gradually decreasing. According to the latest estimates of biologists, the number of this species of falcons in our country has also sharply decreased, and now there are about 70 pairs left. Balaban is included in the list of especially valuable species, for illegal extraction, maintenance, acquisition, storage, transportation, shipment and sale, as well as smuggling of which there is criminal responsibility.

Those who tried to illegally export the birds planned to earn an average of 30 million soums for each balaban. However, the price of falcons on the black market around the world is estimated at between US$15,000 and US$150,000. And the cost of tamed birds of prey can go up to several million US dollars.

Currently, on the revealed fact of the offense, customs inspections and investigative actions are underway.