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A man who insisted that the unusually prominent bulge in his trousers was simply his anatomy is now potentially facing a 20-year prison sentence after the startling truth came to light.
Jesse Agus Martinez, aged 35, was intercepted by Customs and Border Protection officials while attempting to cross from Mexico into the United States on October 23. The officers’ attention was drawn to a conspicuous bulge in the groin area of his pants.
Martinez claimed the bulge was nothing more than his penis. However, a closer examination revealed a different story: two small brown bags were concealed in his underwear.
Contained within these bags were two rare orange-fronted parakeets. According to a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office Southern District of California, the birds were found unconscious but still breathing.
Identified as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, the green parakeets were discovered to be heavily sedated, posing further concern for their welfare.
Martinez, who said he hid the birds because he did not have the correct paperwork to bring them into the United States, claimed that the birds were his pets, which he got from his uncle in Mexico, and that he planned to ‘keep them in a shoe box in his van,’ according to court records.
On Friday, Martinez, who lives in Tijuana, Mexico, was indicted on a federal smuggling charge after authorities claimed he attempted to take the heavily drugged birds across the border.
If convicted, he could be find up to £191,000 ($250,000) and face a maximum of 20 years behind bars.
Jesse Agus Martinez, 35, was stopped by Customs and Border Protection agents at the Mexico-US border on October 23 when guards noticed a suspicious bulge in the groin area of his trousers
Inside the bags were two rare orange-fronted parakeets. They were both unconscious according to a United States Attorney’s Office Southern District of California press release
The parakeets were initially treated by veterinarians before being quarantined, and they are now said to be in a stable condition.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service is now investigating the incident.
Martinez said he tried to bring a bird into the country in September, but was caught by customs officers and it was confiscated.
Court records said he had a parrot concealed in a towel under his arm and that, according to documents, it was ‘subsequently euthanised.’
Orange-fronted parakeets, whose scientific name is Eupsittula canicularis, are listed as ‘vulnerable’ on the Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, the most comprehensive global catalog of the status of animal and plant species.
The pet trade poses the greatest threat to the birds, according to the group, which notes that, between 1998 and 2008, more than 8,000 birds were legally captured, making it the second-most sought-out parrot species in Mexico.
The parakeets were initially treated by veterinarians before being quarantined, and they are now said to be in a stable condition
The country banned the parrot trade in 2008, but ‘illegal capturing is still ongoing in Mexico, albeit decreasing in recent years.’
The birds are also threated by habitat loss and degradation, according to the group.
Imported wildlife must be quarantined before it can be introduced to the country, the US attorney’s office said, noting that many animals have diseases, like bird flu, that can infect humans or other animals.