Man Allegedly Tried To Smuggle Sedated Parakeets Into US In His Underwear

A U.S. citizen living in Mexico has been indicted for allegedly attempting to smuggle two sedated parakeets into the United States in his underwear, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California announced.

Jesse Agus Martinez, a 35-year-old U.S. citizen who resides in Tijuana, Mexico, was indicted by a federal grand jury on Friday on a charge of importation contrary to law, which carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

According to prosecutors, Martinez attempted to enter the U.S. at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry at around 12:50 p.m. on Oct. 23. He was selected for secondary inspection after a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer spotted a bulge in his pants. CBP records showed Martinez had previously smuggled birds into the country.

Martinez allegedly told officers the bulge was his “pirrin,” a Spanish word for penis, but further inspection revealed two brown sacks in his underwear. Each sack contained an orange-fronted parakeet. The birds were found to be breathing, but unconscious and heavily sedated. 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service inspectors responded to the scene and confirmed the birds were protected juvenile orange-fronted parakeets (Eupsittula canicularis). The species is native to Western Mexico and Costa Rica.

Officials said that if Martinez had succeeded in concealing the parakeets, they would have entered the country without any quarantine period or process. Even legally imported wildlife is subject to quarantine before introduction into the United States.

The seized birds were initially cared for by veterinary personnel at the border before being transferred to a Department of Agriculture Animal Import Center for quarantine, where they were listed in stable condition.