'illegal taxidermy' bust following Royal Mail HWDC tip-off

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A tiger's head and a collection of monkey skulls are among the grim spoils seized from a suspected illegal taxidermist.

Investigators were tipped off after postal workers at Royal Mail's Heathrow Worldwide Distribution Centre found a chameleon's body preserved in formaldehyde in a package last month.

The new haul, which also included reptiles, ivory and stuffed birds of prey, was found this week after National Crime Agency officers raided a house and a business in Newton Abbot, Devon.

A 40-year-old man was arrested during the raid. The dead animals were found at the business address.

Dawn Cartwright from the NCA's Border Policing Command said: "Unregulated imports or exports of rare species can have a devastating impact on their survival, which is why the law around moving them is so strict and we take potential breaches of that law so seriously.

"Working with Border Force and our law enforcement partners we will continue to target the international criminal trade in endangered species."

The man, who was arrested on suspicion of evading restrictions under the Customs and Excise Management Act and Control of Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulations, was bailed until September.

In March, Met officers seized a dried elephant's foot in Waltham Forest after someone allegedly attempted to sell it online.

According to the International Fund for Animal Welfare, British websites hosted 1,087 online ads for animals or animal parts in 2014, the lion's share of them on eBay.