‘Finch-smuggling kingpin’ jailed in New York

The accused was said to be ‘incredibly remorseful’ for a crime fuelled by a love of seed finches that dates to his childhood (Alamy/PA)

A man repeatedly caught trying to smuggle finches from Guyana into New York for birdsong competitions has been sentenced to a year and a day in prison.

It was Insaf Ali’s second time being sentenced in a Brooklyn federal court for a crime related to bird trafficking, and he vowed it would be his last.