WATCH: Dramatic CCTV shows pub raid on illegal bird trade

Seventeen men, including one from Hertfordshire and seven across London, have been sentenced in connection with illegal possession of wild birds as part of crackdown by police and the RSPCA.

Raids at a number of properties in February 2019, including at a pub in Leytonstone, East London, led to the convictions following a two-year investigation.

Officers also searched three homes on the same day, finding multiple illegally-captured birds including a collection of almost 200 at one Southend man’s home.

More than 270 birds were seized from the four separate warrants, one of the biggest ever seizures of captive wild birds in the UK.

An RSPCA officer who led the investigation, who cannot be named for operational reasons, said: “When we went into the pub on 2 February 2019 we found a large group of men had congregated inside and outside in the beer garden, many carrying small bird cages.

"We discovered 40 cages of wild birds including goldfinches, linnets and a siskin, as well as 27 canaries and mules (or crossbred birds).

“We also executed warrants at three private addresses where we found a number of wild birds being kept illegally. At one home, we discovered 190 wild birds being kept in cages, including 165 goldfinches.”

Dramatic - The police storming the pub

The final man in the investigation - Adnan Icel, 56, of Southchurch Road, Southend was sentenced on Monday after being found with six goldfinches in his possession at the pub.

During the raid at his home address, officers found 190 wild birds being kept illegally.

He was sentenced to six months in prison - suspended for two years - and disqualified from keeping all birds for life. He was also ordered to pay £28,000 in costs.

Other prosecutions include men from Herts, London, Essex, Kent, County Durham and West Yorkshire.

Cruel - Captive birds at Icel's home

The man from Hertfordshire was ordered to pay a £75 fine, £150 costs and a £30 victim surcharge, while men from north London and north-west London each had to pay a £150 fine, £250 costs and a £30 victim surcharge.

A man from Essex was also found with two goldfinches and two illegally-set traps, one which had caught and killed a thrush, and was also seen on CCTV footage throwing a box with a bird contained. 

He was sentenced to a 10-week jail term, suspended for two years, and ordered to pay £2,000 in costs, £400 fine and £115 victim surcharge. He was also disqualified from keeping birds for life.

RSPCA SOU chief inspector Will Mitchell added: “The illegal trapping and trading in wild birds has long been a problem.

Raid - Birds at home of Icel

"Taking a wild bird from its natural habitat and shutting it in a tiny cage is cruel.

"These birds can suffer immeasurably, not only physically but also mentally, and they often die shortly after being captured.”

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Meeting - Men with the illegally captured birds at a pub