05-06-2009, 06:56 PM
Birdbrain! Smuggler held at airport with 12 rare songbirds strapped to his socks
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnew...socks.html
When customs officials at Los Angeles International Airport spotted feathers and bird droppings on one passenger's shoes they were immediately suspicious.
And when the man's name was checked against records, they noticed America's Fish and Wildlife department had put out a warning about Sony Dong.
Three months earlier, he had abandoned a suitcase containing 18 rare songbirds at the same airport.
But officials were still surprised when they searched him again and discovered a dozen tiny birds strapped to his socks.
'He had fashioned these special cloth devices to hold the birds,' said U.S. attorney spokesman Thom Mrozek. 'They were secured by cloth wrappings and attached to his calves with buttons.'
The songbirds sell for $10 to $30 in Vietnam and are sold to collectors in the United States for about $400, Mrozek said.
'They're rare and there are collectors who are willing to pay top dollar for these things,' he said.
Smuggling birds is not uncommon.In February of this year an Australian traveller was caught at Melbourne airport with live pigeons down his trousers.
After Dong's abortive attempt in December of last year he returned to Vietnam in February to pick up more birds.
He returned a month later with three red-whiskered bul-buls, four magpie robins and six shama thrush under his pants, prosecutors said.
The birds are now in quarantine and could be donated to a zoo if they are healthy.
Fish and Wildlife officials said the bul-buls are listed as an injurious species, which means they pose a threat to people, native wildlife or the ecosystem.
'With anything coming from Southeast Asia, the big concern is the possibility that the birds are infected by avian flu,' Mrozek said.
Authorities later linked Dong's scheme to another man named Duc Le, who was arrested after investigators searched his Orange County, California home and found 51 songbirds in an outdoor aviary.
Both are charged with conspiracy in an eight-count federal indictment.
Le and Dong have been released on bail. Messages left with their public defenders were not returned last night.
![[Image: article-1177819-04D2C8E2000005DC-544_634x687.jpg]](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/05/06/article-1177819-04D2C8E2000005DC-544_634x687.jpg)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnew...socks.html
When customs officials at Los Angeles International Airport spotted feathers and bird droppings on one passenger's shoes they were immediately suspicious.
And when the man's name was checked against records, they noticed America's Fish and Wildlife department had put out a warning about Sony Dong.
Three months earlier, he had abandoned a suitcase containing 18 rare songbirds at the same airport.
But officials were still surprised when they searched him again and discovered a dozen tiny birds strapped to his socks.
'He had fashioned these special cloth devices to hold the birds,' said U.S. attorney spokesman Thom Mrozek. 'They were secured by cloth wrappings and attached to his calves with buttons.'
The songbirds sell for $10 to $30 in Vietnam and are sold to collectors in the United States for about $400, Mrozek said.
'They're rare and there are collectors who are willing to pay top dollar for these things,' he said.
Smuggling birds is not uncommon.In February of this year an Australian traveller was caught at Melbourne airport with live pigeons down his trousers.
After Dong's abortive attempt in December of last year he returned to Vietnam in February to pick up more birds.
He returned a month later with three red-whiskered bul-buls, four magpie robins and six shama thrush under his pants, prosecutors said.
The birds are now in quarantine and could be donated to a zoo if they are healthy.
Fish and Wildlife officials said the bul-buls are listed as an injurious species, which means they pose a threat to people, native wildlife or the ecosystem.
'With anything coming from Southeast Asia, the big concern is the possibility that the birds are infected by avian flu,' Mrozek said.
Authorities later linked Dong's scheme to another man named Duc Le, who was arrested after investigators searched his Orange County, California home and found 51 songbirds in an outdoor aviary.
Both are charged with conspiracy in an eight-count federal indictment.
Le and Dong have been released on bail. Messages left with their public defenders were not returned last night.