Ugandan authorities apprehend a'smuggler' of 122 rare parrots.
The suspect is presently being held at Uganda's capital, Kampala's, Central Police Station.
Boakyewaa Lawrencia 
According to Ugandan officials, a Congolese national was apprehended trafficking 122 African grey parrots in the western region of Kisoro.
During a coordinated operation by the police, the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), and the army, the suspect was apprehended with the birds stuffed into two cages.
Bashir Hangi, a spokesman for the Uganda Wildlife Authority, said the agency acted after receiving information that parrots were being smuggled into Uganda from Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
When the man was apprehended in Kibaya village, near Bunagana, three parrots had died.
The suspect is presently being held at Uganda's capital, Kampala's, Central Police Station.
The parrots were transferred to the Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Centre in Kampala.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature has designated African grey parrots as an endangered species native to central African rainforests (IUCN).
Their numbers have been severely impacted by habitat loss and the removal of major nesting trees.
Because of their capacity to mimic human speech, they are one of the most widely traded wild birds.
