Six individuals were arrested for illegal bird trapping in the Xylophagou area on Tuesday and large quantities of illegal bird trapping equipment was confiscated, SBA police said.
They said that the arrests followed a joint operation with police of the Republic and the Game Fund.
The arrests came after information was gathered with the help of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) based on which 32 officers from the two police forces and the Game Fund carried out operations in eight different locations.
SBA police said the operation was a warning that despite the significant drop in illegal bird trapping this year, SBA police will continue to work ceaselessly to eliminate it altogether.
Two of those arrested were underage. All have been released on bail.
For its part, Bird Life Cyprus said the arrests were made possible because of a covert surveillance operation, for which the RSPB and the SBA Police are collaborating, with the support of BirdLife Cyprus.
This is not the first time covert surveillance is being used for this purpose in Cyprus, as in 2017 a total of 19 trappers were prosecuted after being caught in the act, it added.
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