A man of Maltese nationality was arrested at Barcelona airport when he arrived on a flight from Kenya in May.
The passenger was carrying 38 dead birds in two suitcases, which were destined for private collectors, says Spanish daily ABC on Wednesday.
The corpses were birds protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
The birds had been eviscerated and packaged independently in plastic wrapping, having been treated so that they would remain preserved during the journey, Guardia Civil agents discovered during customs control at Terminal 1 of the airport.
According to ABC, the 'black market' price of the birds in question, according to Guardia Civil calculations, could be as high as 80,000 euros.
The man was arrested for alleged illegal possession of protected species and smuggling.
The final report from the Ministry of Ecological Transition is now awaited, but the preliminary customs assessment concluded that these were Central African birds, probably native to Kenya, protected because of their serious danger of extinction.
