Overview
- Jesse Agus Martinez, 35, has been federally indicted in the Southern District of California on a smuggling charge carrying up to 20 years in prison and a potential $250,000 fine.
- CBP agents stopped Martinez on October 23 and found two orange-fronted parakeets in small brown bags concealed in his underwear, with the birds described as heavily sedated or unconscious.
- Veterinarians treated the birds and placed them in quarantine, where officials say they are stable, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating.
- According to court records, Martinez said he lacked the required import paperwork, claimed the birds were pets from an uncle in Mexico, and planned to keep them in a shoebox in his van.
- Court filings also note a related September incident in which a parrot Martinez tried to bring into the U.S. was seized and later euthanized, and reports cite the species as IUCN-listed vulnerable with strict U.S. quarantine rules.