Some people like to say that they do things, as the old saying goes, on a wing and a prayer. But when Alberto Hernandez Castillo flew from Cuba to Miami International Airport, Customs officials discovered that Castillo took that old saying literally, with one caveat: The wings were in his pants.
These were, one might say, poultry in motion.
WILD FIND: CBP officers at Miami International Airport discovered 10 live birds hidden inside a traveler's underwear after noticing an "unexplained bulge" around his waist and pelvic area during a customs inspection. Alberto Hernandez Castillo arrived on a flight from Havana, Cuba, and had signed a customs declaration stating he was not bringing animals or wildlife into the U.S. Officers found six clear cylindrical containers wrapped in tape and tucked inside black pockets sewn into his underwear, holding eight yellow-faced grassquits and two blue grosbeaks. Full story here https://t.co/wh7EwLawui
— Fox News Lifestyle (@FoxNewsLife) October 7, 2026
The Fox post reads:
WILD FIND: CBP officers at Miami International Airport discovered 10 live birds hidden inside a traveler's underwear after noticing an "unexplained bulge" around his waist and pelvic area during a customs inspection.
Alberto Hernandez Castillo arrived on a flight from Havana, Cuba, and had signed a customs declaration stating he was not bringing animals or wildlife into the U.S. Officers found six clear cylindrical containers wrapped in tape and tucked inside black pockets sewn into his underwear, holding eight yellow-faced grassquits and two blue grosbeaks.
Well, isn't that interesting. That must have come as an un-pheasant surprise for the CBP officers. Fortunately for the birds, they managed to survive the trip, and when you consider they were traveling in this guy's pants, that's a remarkable accomplishment, even if he didn't egg-xactly make the whole trip.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at Miami International Airport spotted what court documents described as an "unexplained bulge" around a passenger's waist and pelvic area after he arrived on a flight from Havana, Cuba, according to a federal complaint obtained by Fox News Digital.
A closer inspection allegedly uncovered 10 live birds concealed beneath the traveler's clothing, the complaint said.
Alberto Hernandez Castillo, a native of Cuba and legal permanent resident of the United States, arrived in Miami Oct. 4.
CBP officers selected him for a secondary inspection.
I will not speculate about whether it's a normal practice for CBP to investigate "unexplained bulges" in traveler's "waist and pelvic area," but we can imagine that in most cases it's a less pleasant part of a challenging job.
Here's the onion:
When questioned about the birds, Castillo allegedly told authorities they were for his "personal use."
He later invoked his right to remain silent, according to the complaint.
Personal use? These are small birds; even if you're not well-versed in ornithology, you can imagine that they would necessarily be small songbirds. It just wouldn't do to try stuffing a chicken in one's pants. To what use could Castillo put these birds? They seem too small to eat. Was he planning on keeping them as cage birds? To sell them? Well, he is exercising his right to remain silent, so those answers will have to wait until he starts to sing. Then we'll be heron about it. Of course, the prosecutors may have to pry it out of him with a crow bar.
Seriously, this guy should be facing not only smuggling but animal cruelty charges. It's remarkable that these birds survived this trip, sealed in plastic tubes with no food or water, and it makes one wonder, how many times has Alberto Castillo done this before? And did he get away with it? If so, what happened to the birds?
In any case, he got caught this time, and these ten birds are safe. You wing some, you lose some.
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