One of the birds inside a cardboard box that was found on the passenger floorboard.
A man who allegedly tried to smuggle seven parrots into the United States through the San Ysidro Port of Entry was facing federal charges Tuesday.
The U.S. Attorney's Office said 24-year-old Juandaniel Medina, a resident of the Tulare County city of Lindsay, purchased the birds for $700 and attempted to bring them into the U.S. in order to breed and resell them. The birds were found in a cardboard box on the passenger floorboard of his car, prosecutors said.
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WATCH HEREThe parrots — six of which were identified as Red-Lored Amazon Parrots — have since been transferred to a U.S. Department of Agriculture-managed quarantine facility, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The case is the third filed in San Diego in recent months against people allegedly attempting to smuggle protected exotic birds through San Diego border crossings.
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SIGN UP Last month, a San Diego man allegedly attempted to cross through the San Ysidro Port of Entry with 17 exotic birds in his car, which were discovered in four bags underneath one of his vehicle's seats. Two of those birds died, according to prosecutors.
In April, San Diego federal prosecutors charged a Mexican citizen who allegedly attempted to cross the border through the Otay Mesa Port of Entry with a dozen parakeets stuffed inside his boots and inside the seat of his car. Prosecutors said each of the birds were tied at their feet and wrapped in panty hose during the alleged smuggling incident.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, among the 12 protected Orange Fronted Parakeets, at least two of the birds died, a third suffered a possible broken neck, and others appeared in poor health.
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All three men are facing charges of importation contrary to law.
"The illicit parrot trade reflects a broader crisis in wildlife protection -- where profit outweighs preservation," San Diego U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon said in a statement. "Bird smuggling is not a victimless crime. These animals suffer, and the consequences to public health and the environment can be catastrophic."
