A man has been indicted on smuggling charges after US Customs and Border Protection officers discovered two heavily sedated parakeets concealed in his underwear at the US-Mexico border.
The Suspicious Bulge
Jesse Agus Martinez, a 35-year-old US citizen residing in Tijuana, Mexico, was questioned by officers after they noticed a suspicious bulge in his trousers. Martinez repeatedly claimed the bulge was his ‘pirrin’, a Spanish slang term for penis, in an attempt to avoid detection.
However, upon closer inspection on October 23, authorities found the true source of the protrusion: two brown sacks hidden inside his underwear, each containing an unconscious but breathing orange-fronted parakeet.
An Endangered Cargo
Agents from the US Fish and Wildlife Service identified the birds as juvenile orange-fronted parakeets (Eupsittula canicularis), a species listed as ‘vulnerable’ on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species.
The birds were heavily sedated at the time of discovery. They were subsequently transferred to a Department of Agriculture Animal Import Centre for quarantine and are now reported to be in a stable condition.
The Threat of the Pet Trade
The incident highlights the ongoing threat of the illegal pet trade to vulnerable species. Between 1998 and 2008, over 8,000 of these green and orange parakeets were legally captured, making them the second most sought-after parrot species in Mexico at the time.
Although Mexico banned the commercial trade of its 22 parrot species in 2008, traffickers continue to attempt to smuggle the highly sought-after birds for profit, contributing to their declining population.
Martinez was officially indicted on Friday. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The US Fish and Wildlife Service is leading the investigation into the case.
