U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers found 29 finches hidden in hair rollers in the baggage of a traveler who arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport and was headed to New Jersey, officials said Tuesday.
Officers made the discovery Sunday during a secondary check of the Guyana man’s bags after he arrived on a flight from Georgetown in the South American country, according to CBP. The 26-year-old was bound for an unspecified address in New Jersey, the agency said.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service inspectors told customs officers to seize the birds and the man was issued a $300 civil penalty, officials said. He was not criminally charged and his name was not released.
Officials said the man withdrew his application to enter the United States and he was sent back on a flight to Guyana.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized 29 finches hidden inside hair rollers from a man at John F. Kennedy International Airport, the agency said.(CBP Photo/Handouts)
Agriculture specialists with CBP quarantined the finches and turned the birds over to U.S. Department of Agriculture Veterinary Services, according to authorities. The fate of the birds was unclear.
“Customs and Border Protection officers and agriculture specialists face a very complex and challenging task and that is to protect our nation, our citizens, our agricultural resources and our economic security, and they meet that challenge with extraordinary commitment and vigilance,” Marty C. Raybon, Acting Director of Field Operations for CBP’s New York Field Office, said in a statement.
Finch smuggling can be a lucrative enterprise, with birds netting hundreds of dollars. In 2019, a Connecticut man was charged with smuggling more than 30 of the songbirds into the country hidden in hair curlers. In that case, officials said CBP officers also stopped the man after he arrived on a flight from Georgetown, Guyana.
Birds can be imported to the United States under certain regulations detailed by the Department of Agriculture.
“Improperly imported birds pose the potential threat of introducing Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), also known as bird flu, to the United States poultry industry,” CBP officials said in a statement.
Officials would not say why the man allegedly tried to smuggle the finches into the country or provide more details on his destination in New Jersey.
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Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com.