Buffalo, NY (AHN) -- In a strange case of smuggling, two Buffalo men were caught smuggling by hiding four birds in a pocket and three in a fanny pack. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents reportedly asked them to pay $1,000 in fines after they seized seven birds from two men as they re-entered the United States from Canada via Buffalo's Peace Bridge.

According to AP reports, the custom officers became suspicious after the two men, identified as John Beale, 59, and Frank Salvini, 65, had gone to Canada Friday to buy 25 pounds of millet bird seed.

On their previous trips, Beale and Salvini usually went for gambling or theater excursion.

Upon searching the two men, the agents found seven undeclared live finches, each worth $50 to $200 in the U.S. market. According to the agents, four of the birds were in the liner of a coat pocket and the other three were in toilet paper rolls inside a fanny pack.

CBP spokesman Kevin Corsaro said that the case of these two Buffalo-area men was referred to federal wildlife and agricultural officials, who were looking into possible criminal charges.

"The smuggling of such birds increases the chances that a communicable bird disease, such as Exotic Newcastle or avian influenza, could enter the United States," Corsaro said.

The classic way to spell word game fun is now the ultimate way to spell fast fun for the entire family. Create and manage your own successful farm with John Deere American Farmer. Grow your future in America's Heartland!

More Weird News From 2006-12-19 The day's offbeat stories from around the world. • Malaysia Launches 'Self-Cleaning' Toilets For Tourism • Man Drops 125 Pounds To Be Deputy • Santa Claus Charged With Kidnapping • Two Arrested For Stabbing Inflatable Frosty • 15-Year-Old British Girl Gives Birth At Catholic School • Woman Complains To Police About Bad Cocaine She Purchased • Pakistani Clerics To Distribute Contraceptives In Mosques • Two Buffallo Men Fined For Smuggling Seven Birds In Pockets • Remains Of Joan Of Arc May Be A Cat • Rabbi Gets Kidney From A Pastor   « Current Weird News Stories