Birds in Their Pants: Two Men Accused of Smuggling 21 Avians After Miami Airport Bust
Customs officers say they found the creatures hidden in the men’s clothes after they touched down on separate flights from Cuba, and it’s unclear whether the two incidents are related. Wildlife trafficking is the world’s fourth-largest form of organized crime
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Two men are being accused of smuggling after customs officers at Miami International Airport discovered live birds hidden beneath their clothing.
When Alberto Hernandez Castillo arrived on a flight from Cuba on October 4, he indicated he did not bring any wildlife into the United States. However, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers noticed an “unexplained bulge on the front of [his] pelvis/waist area” and thought he seemed “nervous,” according to the court documents, as reported by ABC News’ Clara McMichael and Ivan Pereira.
When customs officers searched Hernandez Castillo, 40, they found black pouches sewn into his underwear. Inside, they discovered six plastic tubes holding ten live birds: eight yellow-faced grassquits and two blue grosbeaks.
Hernandez Castillo claimed the birds were for “personal use,” then invoked his right to remain silent. Hernandez does not appear to have applied for or received permission to legally import wildlife into the country, and he was subsequently charged with smuggling. He was released after posting a $25,000 bond.
Yellow-faced grassquits are small, grayish-green finches typically found flying in loose flocks in open, grassy fields between southeastern Mexico and northern South America, as well as the Greater Antilles, the group of islands that includes Cuba. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) considers it a species of “least concern,” but it is protected under the U.S. Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
Blue grosbeaks are large songbirds with thick, triangular bills found in the southern U.S., Mexico, Central America and the Greater Antilles. Males are bright blue, while females sport cinnamon-colored plumage. Blue grosbeaks have also been deemed a species of “least concern” by the IUCN but are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
According to CBS News’ Ana Maria Soler, the two species are often illegally brought into the U.S. and sold for the pet trade or singing competitions.
Two days later, on October 6, 41-year-old Roberto Perez Quincosa arrived at Miami International Airport on a flight from Havana. Customs officers discovered 11 birds on his body: six Cuban melodious finches and five Cuban bullfinches.
Perez Quincosa had used hair roller tubes “with holes along their length and capped with netting material” to transport the birds in a belt-like garment, according to the criminal complaint, as reported by the New York Times’ Rebecca Chao. He also does not appear to have filed the appropriate paperwork to import wildlife legally.
Perez Quincosa told officials he intended to breed and sell the birds for $100 to $120 each, per NBC6’s Brian Hamacher. Authorities have not revealed whether Perez Quincosa is still in custody.
The Cuban melodious finch, also known as the Cuban grassquit, is a species of “least concern” found only in Cuba. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, it has been “highly valued” as a caged bird since the 1800s, so their capture and trade has become a “lucrative business.” The birds are often found alongside yellow-faced grassquits.
Cuban bullfinches, meanwhile, are considered “near threatened.” These small, darkly colored birds tend to stick to Cuba’s forested areas, where they feast on bugs, seeds, small fruits and nectar. Their capture for the illegal pet trade is one of the main threats to the species survival, along with habitat loss.
It’s unclear whether the two incidents are related. Both men were born in Cuba and are now legal permanent U.S. residents.
Did you know? Sniffing out contraband
African giant pouched rats might one day help combat wildlife trafficking. Researchers are training the rodents to sniff out commonly smuggled items, including pangolin scales, rhino horns, elephant tusks and African blackwood, a tree that is often used to make musical instruments.Paul Reillo, a zoologist who directs the Tropical Conservation Institute at Florida International University, tells the Miami Herald’s David Goodhue that tubes are a common method of smuggling birds for the illegal wildlife trade.
In Cuba, he says, trappers typically catch wild birds with nets or traps set in common feeding areas, often using birds raised in captivity to lure them in. Some buyers may be Cuban immigrants living in Miami who want the birds as reminders of home, while others might hope to breed them and sell the hatchlings, Reillo says.
Wildlife trafficking is the world’s fourth-largest form of organized crime, with an estimated annual value of up to $20 billion. Beyond birds, the illegal wildlife trade includes a variety of animals and plants, from exotic mammals and reptiles to cacti and orchids. Traffickers may capture or harvest live specimens, or they may kill them for their meat, bones, scales, horns, hides or tusks.
But the people who get caught transporting smuggled goods are often low-level players.
“Almost all couriers are sacrificial mules and part of a much bigger picture,” Reillo says. “They are not the kingpins or coordinators.”
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