Penguins rescued by police after pair went missing from zoo
19 January 2019, 10:26
The birds disappeared two months ago but have now been safely recovered after police put their “beaks in”
A pair of penguins that were snatched from a zoo in November last year have been found safe and well – and returned home.
Nottinghamshire Police discovered the stolen penguins earlier this week after a tip-off led them to an address in Strelley Village, Notts.
The force said they were able to recover the two Humboldt penguins, which are usually found along the coasts of Peru and Chile, following a two-month investigation after "putting our beaks in".
INCIDENT: Arrest after officers find stolen penguins Officers p-p-picked up a pair of penguins in Strelley Village...
Posted by Nottinghamshire Police on Thursday, 17 January 2019
Sergeant Andrew Browning, who worked on the investigation, said: “My first thought was this is one for the books, and one to tell the grandkids, because there’s no way we thought we would go down there and actually find two penguins.
“It was an unusual one. Even when we went down to custody it made everyone laugh, particularly the custody sergeant who was booking us in.
“It was a real off-the-wall find.”
He said: “Rather than let it turn into a cold case, we acted quickly on a tip-off that the pair of Humboldt penguins had been taken in November and were now believed to be residing in Notts.
“After putting our beak in and making enquiries we recovered the birds safe and well on Wednesday afternoon and returned to the zoo.”
Police arrested a 23-year-old man on suspicion of burglary and theft. He has since been released under investigation.
