Six Cuban nationals, who resided in Houston, have been indicted by a federal grand jury with illegal trafficking of migratory songbirds, U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani announced.
Antonio Cabrero Ruano, 56, Roberto Guimary Machado, 59, Luis Valdez Machado, 22, Iran Almarales Garcia, 53, Ediel Barroso Quintero, 27, and Alexander DeJesus Lechuga, 45, were taken into custody over the weekend by authorities.
The scheme allegedly involved the illegal trapping and selling of protected songbirds, including indigo buntings, painted buntings, rose-breasted grosbeaks, blue grosbeaks and house finches, among others, according to the release. The investigation led to the seizure of over 300 illegally trapped songbirds. They were turned over to the Houston Zoo and Moody Gardens where they were evaluated and photographed, according to the release. Healthy birds were released to the wild, while those that were too sick or injured to survive unaided will remain under the care of the zoos.
“The illegal wildlife trade doesn’t just happen behind closed doors – many of our native species are being traded out in the open in flea markets and online marketplaces like Facebook,” said FWS Special Agent in Charge Victoria Owens. “In addition to seeking justice for our native wildlife and the American public, we want the prosecution of these cases to help educate the public about wildlife laws and deter people from committing these crimes in the future.
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