(AP) - A California man had been arrested last month at Los Angeles International Airport for attempting to smuggle 93 songbirds into the country.
All of the birds except for eight died during transit.
The Orange County Register reports 49-year-old Kurtis Law put the birds in a suitcase in Vietnam, where he has a house.
The birds were discovered while Law's suitcase went through an X-ray machine.
Law had been detained for questioning and did not claim the birds. He has been charged with smuggling goods into the country, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. He also is accused of violating an international treaty against trading wild animals and plants.
The surviving birds have been placed in quarantine.
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