Maxie Zeus
11-15-2001, 07:50 PM
Excerpted from Tampa Bay Online (http://ap.tbo.com/ap/florida/MGA9JOOT1UC.html) :
Man Found With Birds in His Pants Indicted on Smuggling Charges
MIAMI (AP) - A federal grand jury has returned an indictment against a Miami man authorities say had 44 birds hidden in his pants when he arrived on a charter flight from Havana.
Carlos M. Rodriguez Avila was charged with unlawful importation and possession of the birds, valued at more than $350, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement Wednesday.
Suspicious airport inspectors asked Avila to raise his pant legs and saw something strapped to his legs when he arrived in Miami Oct. 31. A final count of the birds included some Cuban melodious finches, which are popular pet songbirds.
Man Found With Birds in His Pants Indicted on Smuggling Charges
MIAMI (AP) - A federal grand jury has returned an indictment against a Miami man authorities say had 44 birds hidden in his pants when he arrived on a charter flight from Havana.
Carlos M. Rodriguez Avila was charged with unlawful importation and possession of the birds, valued at more than $350, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement Wednesday.
Suspicious airport inspectors asked Avila to raise his pant legs and saw something strapped to his legs when he arrived in Miami Oct. 31. A final count of the birds included some Cuban melodious finches, which are popular pet songbirds.