South American passenger is caught trying to smuggle 70 live finches through JFK - worth up to $5,000 each - stuffed into individual hair rollers
BY Luke Kenton
Daily Mail
December 13, 2018
US Customs and Border Protection Officers (CBP) at JFK airport made a hair-raising discovery in one passenger's luggage on Saturday.
Travelling from Guyana in South America to New York, a man carrying a black duffel bag was subjected to a luggage search by border agents on December 8.
Hidden inside the bag officers discovered 70 live finches, each individually packed into orange and green hair rollers.
The birds are considered to be very popular pets among Caribbean immigrants, and are often used in 'singing contests', and a winning finch can sell for up to $10,000.
Previous attempts to smuggle finches into the US have resulted in multiple arrests, but the unnamed Guyanese citizen wasn't detained on this occasion.
Instead, he was denied entry to the US and returned to his home country.
The birds were seized from the passenger, quarantined, and transferred to the Department of Agriculture Veterinary Services, amid concerns of potential disease.
In a statement on Tuesday, Troy Miller, the CBP Director of New York Field Operations, said: 'CBP Agriculture Specialists are the first line of defense to prevent the introduction of animal diseases that have the potential to cause significant damage to the Nation’s agricultural economy.'
The CBP cited the bird flu outbreak of 2015 as the cause for their concern.
Otherwise known as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, the epidemic is considered the worst in the US' history, with more than 50 million chickens and turkeys having to be destroyed across the country as a result.
The outbreak is also believed to have cost the government up to $850 million in damages.
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