A Dutch man was arrested at the international airport in Suriname on Friday after attempting to smuggle six songbirds out of the country, hidden in his checked baggage. The birds – five twa-twa’s and one picolet – were discovered by a customs official who alerted police from the Zanderij station. The smuggler had crafted wooden cages for the birds himself. He then requested the case be settled out of court, a proposal the Surinamese Public Prosecution Service accepted. The man paid a fine of 120,000 Surinamese dollars (approximately 3000 euros) and relinquished the birds, though the police fraud department continues to investigate. This incident is part of a recurring pattern of songbird smuggling from Suriname to the Netherlands, with similar cases occurring in 2021 and 2023, threatening the songbird population in Suriname, according to the IFAW.