By Chantalle Edmunds For Dailymail.com
Published: 20:13 BST, 17 June 2019 | Updated: 21:35 BST, 17 June 2019
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A Connecticut man has been charged with trying to smuggle 34 song birds in plastic hair curlers into the U.S.
Francis Gurahoo, 39, is accused of bringing the finches into the country from Guyana.
The discovery was made when Gurahoo underwent a random search by Customs and Border Patrol officials after arriving at JFK airport, New York, Sunday on a flight from Georgetown, Guyana, South America.
A man was arrested at JFK Airport and accused of trying to smuggle 34 finches concealed in plastic hair curlers from Guyana into the U.S.
Smuggled finches are used in singing contests in Brooklyn and Queens where wagers are placed on the birds with the best 'voice,' according to prosecutors
Smuggled finches are used in singing contests in Brooklyn and Queens where wagers are placed on the birds with the best 'voice,' according to prosecutors.
According to a complaint filed by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, Gurahoo, said he planned to sell the finches for about $3,000 each and allegedly admitted that he intended to smuggle the birds to avoid quarantine, as reported by NBC 4 New York.
According to the complaint, contests involving singing finches are held in public areas like parks.
Two of the finches sing and a judge selects the bird with the best voice.
The finches were discovered after Francis Gurahoo, 39, underwent a random search by Customs and Border Patrol officials after arriving at JFK airport, New York,
