A Mexican citizen was charged with attempting to illegally import twelve Orange Fronted Parakeets into the United States, using his footwear and car upholstery as an improvised aviary, according to a statement obtained by the U.S. Attorney's Office. Naim Lajud Libien, who attempted to sneak these birds across the Otay Mesa Port of Entry, now faces serious federal charges after being taken into custody on Tuesday.
During a secondary inspection at the port of entry, Customs and Border Protection officers discovered that Libien had six birds—three in each boot—concealed and tied to push them past the border inspection quickly. An additional six parakeets were later found jammed inside a seat cushion in Libien's vehicle, with at least two deceased and one suffering a broken neck, as detailed by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The Orange-fronted Parakeets, identified by a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service inspector, have been listed under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) since 2005. Their illegal importation risked bypassing necessary quarantine procedures to prevent spreading potentially devastating diseases to human and animal populations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily Allen and Elizabet Brown are prosecuting the case, with Libien facing penalties up to 20 years in custody and a $250,000 fine for the charge of Importation Contrary to Law under 18 U.S.C. § 545.
Beyond the legal consequences for Libien, the illicit trade poses a broader threat due to the potential spread of zoonotic diseases such as Avian influenza, psittacosis, and histoplasmos. These diseases can cause respiratory illnesses, pneumonia, and even death in humans, and could disastrously affect domestic poultry farms. These risks underscore the necessity to strictly adhere to animal quarantine regulations, as these measures safeguard public health and wildlife by preventing the unchecked dissemination of infectious diseases.
