The so-called “Pablo Escobar of eggs” is fighting extradition to Brazil for the attempted trafficking of endangered falcon eggs, even as he languishes in a British prison cell for a similar crime.

For three decades, Jeffrey Lendrum, 58, smuggled fragile eggs from the nests of birds of prey to wealthy international clients. The serial wildlife criminal has been arrested five times on three different continents, and in 2018 he was caught at Heathrow in possession of 19 eggs worth an estimated £100,000.

When he was searched, the Irishman was found to be wearing a sling made from bandages beneath his clothes concealing and keeping warm 19 eggs from vultures, falcons and kites as well as two newly hatched African fish eagle chicks.

He was sentenced to three years and one month in UK prison. However, he now faces extradition to Brazil, where he was arrested in 2015 trying to board a flight from Sāo Paulo to Johannesburg with rare eggs.

At Westminster magistrates court on Wednesday, Lendrum appeared via videolink from HMP Wandsworth for an extradition case management hearing.

Jeffrey Lendrum with bird eggs strapped to his body in a sling after arriving in the UK at Heathrow airport in June 2018. Photograph: Crown Prosecution Service

Outlining potential complications to the request, Florence Iveson, representing Lendrum, pointed out that Brazilian authorities planned to hold him in a cell with more than 20 other prisoners, with each having an average of around 2.25 sq metres of space.

“In the history of Brazilian extradition matters, there has been a failure to ultimately provide suitable assurances,” Iveson said.

Lendrum skipped bail in Brazil in 2016 after a judge sentenced him to four years and six months for his attempt to smuggle peregrine falcons out of the country. He had previously been jailed at Warwick crown court for 30 months in 2010 after trying to export peregrine falcon eggs from Birmingham airport to Dubai.

The main drivers of egg poaching are wealthy clients in the Middle East, where peregrine falcons are in great demand for traditional falconry and can sell for thousands of dollars, according to the wildlife trade specialists Traffic.

After 35 years serving the illicit trade in rare eggs, “Lendrum is a well-known name to conservation charities working on illegal bird trade issues”, said Richard Thomas, a spokesperson for Traffic.

Lendrum, once a member of the Rhodesian army’s special forces, once used a helicopter during a theft in northern Quebec, hanging from a rope to get close to the nest, according to Joshua Hammer, in The Falcon Thief, the book he wrote about Lendrum’s exploits.

He is set to make a further appearance at Westminster magistrates court for a bail application hearing on 30 January.