A 39-year-old Louisiana man allegedly caught at Honolulu International Airport smuggling cockfighting gaffs into the United States from the Philippines will be one of the first people in the nation to be prosecuted under a new federal law, U.S. attorney for Hawai'i Ed Kubo said today.

In announcing the indictment today of Joseph Marty Toralba for allegedly transporting an instrument used for cockfighting, Kubo said the Louisiana man could be sentenced to three years in prison if convicted of violating the "Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act," passed in May 2007.

The new federal law increased the penalty for the promotion of dogfights and cockfights from a misdemeanor to a felony offense, said Kubo. The law makes it illegal to sell, purchase or transport knives, gaffs and sharp instruments designed and intended to be attached to the leg of a bird for use in an animal fighting venture.

Toralba will be the first person prosecuted under the new federal law in Hawai'i, and possibly in the nation, for the cockfighting gaff violations, said Kubo. Hawai'i state law also prohibits the possession of cockfighting gaffs.

Agents working a Honolulu Airport U.S. Customs screening area allegedly found 263 gaffs in boxes declared by Toralba to contain gas stoves on Feb. 2. The gaffs were hidden inside the stoves, Kubo said.

A gaff is basically a knife commonly attached to the legs of fighting birds that help them to duel to the death, Kubo said.

Toralba allegedly told investigators he purchased the gaffs in the Philippines for $125 and intended to use them for cockfighting in Louisiana. In August 2008, Louisiana will become the 50th state to outlaw cockfighting, said Kubo.

Toralba made his appearance Feb. 4 before a magistrate here and was released on bond. A summons will be issued for him to return to Hawai'i for prosecution at a yet-to-be-determined date, Kubo said.