U.S. Agents Smash Ring of Bird Smugglers : Crime: New Zealand man is arrested and hundreds of exotic animals are seized in several states. Many of the protected species were taken from Australia.

A New Zealand man was arrested Friday and hundreds of exotic birds were seized across the nation and overseas as federal agents in Los Angeles capped what they described as a three-year investigation of an international parrot-smuggling ring.

Assistant U.S. Atty. John Walsh said the ring ran a round-trip operation, bringing the rare birds to this country from New Zealand and carrying fertile eggs--strapped to couriers’ bodies to keep them warm--back to the island nation.

The ring handled birds worth “hundreds of thousands, and possibly millions of dollars” during the course of the investigation, Walsh said.

Philip Morrison, 35, described by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service investigators as a central figure in the operation, was arrested Friday morning at the home of a friend in Costa Mesa, Walsh said. Officials indicated that more arrests may occur. According to Walsh, Morrison capitalized on the great demand in this country for birds that are native to Australia. Some species of Australian cockatoos are said to command prices of up to $20,000 on the U.S. market.

Investigators said Morrison’s scheme worked this way:

Australia does not permit the export of its native birds, so Morrison had to transport them secretly to New Zealand, where false documentation was provided showing that the birds had been bred there in captivity.

Since New Zealand permits the export of birds bred in captivity, Morrison then used the false documentation to ship the parrots, macaws and cockatoos to the United States.

On their return trips, Morrison’s couriers strapped fertile eggs of species illegal in New Zealand to their bodies to keep the eggs incubating during the long, transpacific flights. Once in New Zealand, these eggs were hatched and the resultant birds were sold to collectors there.

Morrison and his wife, Marlene, 35, were arrested in Auckland last April 7 as they returned home on a flight from the United States, New Zealand officials said. The officials said that when Marlene Morrison was searched, the crushed remains of 10 eggs were found in a stocking wrapped around her body.

The couple pleaded guilty in an Auckland court last October to charges of attempting to trade in endangered species. They were fined about $1,250 apiece.

Walsh said law enforcement officers in New Zealand advised American officials that Morrison was flying to Los Angeles this week to arrange at least the fifth of his smuggling deals.

When he arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on Wednesday, he was met by undercover Wildlife Service agents posing as exotic bird importers. Morrison remained under surveillance until his arrest Friday morning.

As Morrison was being arrested, hundreds of birds and volumes of records were seized under warrants served at locations in California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Louisiana, Australia and New Zealand, the Wildlife Service said.

Walsh said the law enforcement actions were taken concurrently because of Morrison’s peripheral involvement in other operations. Wildlife Service agents said that during their investigation they uncovered several elaborate schemes for disguising the native origins of exotic birds.

Some of these involved smuggling birds out of African nations.