SONGBIRDS SMUGGLED IN HAIR CURLERS, AUTHORITIES BUST TWO MEN
You learn something new every day, whether you know it or not. But this one is easy. A couple weeks ago, police arrested two men who had arrived on an international flight at John F. Kennedy International Airport. According to federal authorities, the two men attempted to smuggle songbirds into the United States. How? By hiding them in hair curlers. But it’s even stranger than that. Authorities identified the two men. They were 72-year-old Victor Benjamin from Brooklyn and 57-year-old Insaf Ali, of the Bronx. The two men flew in on a flight from Georgetown, Guyana. But they will soon be jailbirds.
SMUGGLERS HAD 26 SONGBIRDS HIDDEN IN HAIR CURLERS, STUFFED IN SOCKS
Border inspectors selected the two a customs search. The search of the two men turned up finches, hidden in hair curlers, which were concealed in their socks. But we’re talking about a lot of finches. The older man had 14, the younger 12. Authorities confiscated the songbirds and put them in appropriate cages. Authorities released them both on a bond of $20,000. They are waiting to be tried in court. Both face a possible conviction of 20 years apiece for the smuggled songbirds. That seems like a long stretch for smuggling. But I’m not familiar with the law. It seems rather severe, no?
JAILBIRDS HOPED TO SCORE BIG AT SONGBIRD SINGING CONTEST WITH SUPERIOR FINCHES
But why would these two take such a risk, smuggling finches from Guyana? Evidently, there are songbird singing contexts. The winning songbird can net as much as 5 thousand dollars. But why birds from Guyana? Fans of the contests believe that Guyana songbirds have superior singing voices. Can you believe it? You do learn something new every day. People are willing to risk jail time, a lot of jail time, to smuggle finches into the country. And these two used hair curlers snug in their socks for 26 finches! But they got busted. They will be jailbirds instead of songbird winners. Maybe they can sing together in the shower?
