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Stolen penguins picked up by police

Nottinghamshire Police ‘put their beak in’ to help recover the stolen penguins.

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The two Humboldt penguins

Two police officers have picked up a pair of stolen penguins after “putting our beak in” following a tip-off.

A Nottinghamshire Police spokesman said officers were determined not to let it become a “cold case” after the two Humboldt penguins were taken from a zoo in November.

A 23-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of burglary and theft after officers found the penguins at an address in Strelley Village, Nottingham, on Wednesday.

“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,” a force spokesman said.

“After putting our beak in and making inquiries, we recovered the birds safe and well on Wednesday afternoon and returned to the zoo.”

Sergeant Andrew Browning, who worked on the investigation with Pc Paul Toon, 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.”

Humboldt penguins can usually be found waddling along the coast of Peru and Chile and can grow up to 2ft long.

The 23-year-old man has since been released under investigation, police said.

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