A Miami man is facing up to 20 years in prison for smuggling 16 birds from Cuba in his pants to the sunny Florida city.

Alberto Diaz Gonzalez pleaded guilty to attempting to import undeclared wildlife from Cuba on Thursday after he was caugh smuggling 16 birds from the island.

Gonzalez was caught with 16 bullfinches in various pockets and compartment he stitched to the inside of his pants.

Gonzalez is scheduled to be sentenced in February, with a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.

Gonzalez wrote on his customs declaration form on October 20th that he wasn’t carrying any wildlife and said the same when he was directly questioned by a customs agent when he returned from Havana. 

During the subsequent pat down, however, it became clear that he had been lying. When officers searched him they found the birds hidden in his pants.

It became it was evident that he was lying during a pat down.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cuba is considered a region that is at high-risk for the deadly avian influenza or more commonly known as the bird flu.

The penalty seems especially harsh. I suppose it isn’t easy being so low in the pecking order.

Stephen Willard | Elite.