Couple swapped cockatoo for two children

An American couple have admitted swapping a cockatoo and $175 for two young children.

Paul and Brandy Romero, from Eunice, Louisiana, pleaded guilty to two counts relating to the sale of a minor after the bizarre trade was uncovered.

A statement from the local district attorney’s office said the pair’s five-year prison sentence had been suspended in exchange for their testimony against Donna Greenwell, the woman accused of selling the children.

Greenwell is not the children’s mother, but they were living with her at the time of the swap.

Prosecutors accuse Greenwell of instigating the transfer after she responded to an advert posted by the Romeros, who are unable to have children themselves.

According to local reports, authorities initially feared that Greenwell had kidnapped the five-year-old boy and his four-year-old sister.

But it later emerged that the children’s parents knew they were with Greenwell but were unaware that both had been left with another couple.

The Romeros maintain that they did not know the legal requirements for transferring children.

They told authorities they were just trying to provide a home for the youngsters.

Greenwell, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges, is due to be tried in November.

Her lawyer has said there was no swap involved and his client was simply trying to find a suitable home for the two siblings.