While smuggling things across the United States and Mexico border may be common, the items one man was smuggling were not, as authorities detained a man trying to sneak 13 live yellow-headed parrots into the country.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection shared that the incident happened on June 16, when officials searched a 2010 sedan being driven by a 26-year-old man applying for entry into the U.S.
While inspecting the vehicle and the driver, agriculture specialists with the CBP found the birds hidden in two duffel bags in the trunk of the car.
Sidney Aki, CBP Director of Field Operations in San Diego, shared in a statement that the CBP enforces hundreds of laws at the border to “help stop smuggling attempts” of potentially “endangered species” just like this.
“Smugglers attempt to deceive CBP officers with no consideration for the health and safety of the animals; CBP aims to continuously enforce USDA and CDC guidelines,” Aki said.
The driver was detained by officials and turned over to the custody of Homeland Security Investigators and Fish and Wildlife Services for further processing.
The parrots have been taken to a secure and safe area where they will remain under quarantine. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Veterinary Services will evaluate the birds while under quarantine to ensure they do not carry any avian diseases.
The stop was nothing new for the CBP, as it shared in its press release that on “a typical day in fiscal year 2022, CBP agriculture specialists intercepted 240 pests at U.S. ports of entry and 2,677 materials for quarantine: plant, meat, animal byproduct, and soil.”
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