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Janitor changes tune, admits to smuggling 34 songbirds from Guyana
New York (New York Daily News)- A Connecticut janitor who pleaded not guilty to smuggling nearly three dozen live songbirds into Kennedy Airport in June changed his tune Thursday, admitting that he stuffed them in his carry-on luggage.Francis Gurahoo, 40, hid the sweet-voiced birds inside colorful plastic hair rollers on a flight to JFK from Guyana on June 16, last.
Pleaded guilty: Francis Gurahoo
“I’m nervous and scared,” Gurahoo told a federal judge Thursday before pleading guilty. “I was a passenger on a flight from Guyana to the United States. I had in my possession 34 finches. I knew these finches had to be declared to customs … I know this was illegal.”
Gurahoo is the latest in a long line of finch smugglers from Guyana, according to law enforcement. The birds, while not illegal, need to be declared to customs and possibly quarantined to stop the spread of disease.
The seized birds
Smugglers bring finches into the U.S. from Guyana to have them compete in singing contests in parks, where they compete against each other and a judge selects the best crooner. Members of the audience put wagers on the birds.
Guyanese songbirds are considered to have better voices than other finches, according to the complaint.
“Although certain species of finch are available in the United States, species from Guyana are believed to sing better and are therefore more highly sought after. An individual willing to smuggle finches into the United States from Guyana can earn a large profit by selling these birds in the New York area,” the complaint reads.
Gurahoo planned on selling the birds for about US$3,000 each — a possible windfall of US$100,000.
“It’s a very technical crime;` the birds are not illegal,” said Gurahoo’s lawyer, Eric Pack, who is currently under indictment for possession of heroin with intent to sell in Nassau County.
He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.
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