An Alabama man is one of two people indicted federally amid accusations they illegally smuggled hundreds of taxidermy bird mounts and thousands of eggs into the U.S. over a four-year period.

The U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday announced the indictment against Toney Jones, 53, of Eufaula, and Dr. John Waldrop 74, of Georgia. They are charged with conspiracy, smuggling, Endangered Species Act, and money laundering.

Authorities said the pair is not accused of importing any live birds.

According to the indictment, Waldrop and Jones used online sales sites such as eBay and Etsy to buy birds and eggs from around the world, including Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Russia, South Africa, the United Kingdom and Uruguay.

The pair imported and collected myriad species of protected birds, such as canary, dipper, duck, eagle, falcon, grouse, gull, hawk, heron, hoopoe, kestrel, kinglet, lapwing, murre, owl, parrot, pochard, rail, teal, snipe, spoonbill, vulture and woodpecker.

In addition to the conspiracy, the indictment charges Waldrop and Jones with importing three packages containing birds and eggs in 2020 through John F. Kennedy International Airport in violation of smuggling and ESA laws.

The packages contained a Levant sparrowhawk, a grasshopper buzzard-hawk, two gull eggs, two murre eggs and one unidentified bird egg.

The final count of the indictment alleges that Waldrop and Jones conspired to commit money laundering by sending funds out of the U.S. to finance bird smuggling.

The indictment also seeks forfeiture of 779 bird mounts and 2,594 eggs alleged to have been illegally imported into the United States.

U.S. law and regulations require that importers declare wildlife to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Customs. Permits are also required for wildlife protected by the ESA, Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

“The Endangered Species Act is a vital law in the fight against international trafficking of protected wildlife,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.

“Rare and endangered birds have important roles in their habitats, and we are committed to preventing and deterring their unlawful removal.”

The maximum sentence for the smuggling and money laundering charges is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the economic gain or loss.

The conspiracy charge carries a five-year maximum sentence, and the Endangered Species Act is punishable by six months in prison.

The USFWS’s Office of Law Enforcement in Valley Stream, New York, conducted the investigation as part of Operation Final Flight.

The operation focused on the trafficking of protected birds into the United States.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources assisted with the investigation.