A man was caught at JFK Airport on Monday allegedly trying to smuggle in 35 live finches from Guyana — stuffed inside plastic hair curlers and concealed inside his clothes, authorities said.
Kevin Andre McKenzie is just the latest alleged would-be songbird smuggler busted using the hair-accessory method to bring in the coveted creatures, which are used in high-stakes singing contests popular in Brooklyn and Queens
After McKenzie deplaned from a JetBlue flight originating in Georgetown, Guyana, CBP agents found the small seed-eating birds inside the curlers, which were covered with a mesh cloth, and then concealed inside his jacket and pants, according to the criminal complaint filed in the Eastern District of New York.
McKenzie allegedly told them he had been offered $3,000 to traffic the finches into the US.
He was charged with the illegal importation of wildlife and was released on a $25,000 bond, authorities said. If convicted, McKenzie faces up to 20 years in prison.
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