Passenger Arrested at New York's JFK With 70 Live Finches

A passenger arrived from Georgetown, Guyana, at New York's JFK over the weekend with some unusual contraband in their luggage. While inspecting the passenger's luggage agents found 70 live finches. The birds were packaged in hair rollers and concealed in a duffle bag. The passenger was then detained by US Customs and Border Protection.

Troy Miller, director of field operations for the New York field office, stated that CBP officers are the first line of defense when it comes to having diseases introduced into the United States. These diseases have the potential to cause real damage to the US agricultural industry.

An outbreak of bird flu in 2015 caused the loss of 50 million turkeys and chickens in the US and came with a price tag of $850 million in damages.

The tiny winged passengers were detained by the United States Department of Agriculture Veterinary Services to be held under quarantine.