Is that a parrot in your pocket? Man charged with smuggling heavily sedated parakeets in his pants at US-Mexico border

A man was charged with smuggling after Customs and Border Protection officers at the U.S.-Mexico border noticed a suspicious bulge in his pants — only to learn he had two parakeets hidden in his underwear.

Jesse Agus Martinez, a 35-year-old U.S. citizen living in Tijuana, Mexico, was indicted Friday after authorities said he tried to smuggle two heavily sedated orange-fronted parakeets – a protected species – into the United States late last month, the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of California said.

The birds, an endangered species native to Mexico, were found on October 23, “apparently unconscious but breathing and heavily sedated” inside two brown sacks, prosecutors said.

When questioned by customs officers, Martinez “claimed several times” that the bulge in his pants was his “pirrin,” a Spanish word for penis.

However, when authorities took a closer look, they discovered the two parakeets hidden inside his underwear.

Jesse Agus Martinez was caught smuggling the protected birds on October 23 at the U.S. Mexico border (U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of California)

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agents then examined the birds and identified them as juvenile orange-fronted parakeets.

The birds were sent to a Department of Agriculture Animal Import Center for quarantine and are reportedly now in stable condition.

Orange-fronted parakeets, also known as 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 group notes that the pet trade poses the biggest threat to the critically endangered birds as their population continues to decrease due to trappings.

The birds were heavily sedated and stuffed inside sacks that were in Martinez’s underwear. They are now said to be in a stable condition (U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of California)

Between 1998 and 2008, more than 8,000 of the green and orange parakeets were legally captured, making them the second most sought-after parrot species in Mexico. While Mexico banned the commercial and subsistence trade of its 22 parrot species in 2008, smugglers still attempt to make a profit off of the highly sought-after species.

If convicted, Martinez would face a fine of up to $250,000 and a maximum of 20 years in prison.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating the incident.