O.C. Man Accused Of Smuggling Songbirds In Pants

[Kevin]

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Sony Dong, 46, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport in March after an inspector spotted bird feathers and droppings on his socks and tail feathers peeking out from under his pants, prosecutors said.

"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."

Authorities later linked Dong's scheme to Duc Le, who was arrested after investigators searched his Orange County home and found 51 songbirds in an outdoor aviary. Both are charged with conspiracy in an eight-count federal indictment.

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.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife inspectors flagged Dong for inspection because he had abandoned a suitcase containing 18 birds at the Los Angeles airport in December, Mrozek said. Five of the birds died in transit.

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) ―

A man was charged Tuesday with smuggling songbirds into the United States by hiding more than a dozen of them in an elaborate,

Dong returned to Vietnam in February to pick up more birds and 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 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.

Le and Dong have been released on bail. Messages left with their public defenders were not returned Tuesday night.

[chapala]

Glad they caught him, and hope it discourages others in the terrible wild-caught bird trade.

[shootinfromthehip]

Things like this make me laugh and say to my self "ahh some ppl are just stupid"

[Ashling]

I saw many of those black and white birds in tiny cages in Vietnam. They all looked so sad, I wanted to snap the bars of those wooden cages and set them free! They make a melancholy, haunting song.

[hollyhawkz]

Oh Gosh,

That's awful. I wonder how many even survive that kind of ordeal.

It's neither funny nor a matter of stupidity, it's a matter of money. That guy has about ten birds strapped to each leg, that would be $4,000 if all survived.

I hope the collectors are taking a good look at what they are perpetuating!

Shame on them!

[Shutterbugmom]

Just when ya' think you've seen it all.