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Last month, Customs and Border Protection were waiting when Song Dong of Garden Grove returned to Los Angeles from Vietnam. During inspection, they initially noticed bird feathers and droppings on his socks and upon a further look, "14 live birds attached to two flat pieces of clothe that were wrapped around his calves," according to the United States Attorneys Office. Agents were first tipped off to Dong last December when piece of abandoned checked luggage of his contained 18 birds, five of which that were dead.
They also connected Song to Duc Le, also of Garden Grove, who was found with 51 Asian songbirds and 70 bird cages.
If convicted, Done and Le face maximum sentences of 10 and 26 years in person, respectively.