A 39-year-old Louisiana man arrested at Honolulu Airport for allegedly 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 yesterday.

Joseph Marty Toralba was indicted for allegedly transporting a fighting instrument used by birds 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 dog 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 on Feb. 2 allegedly found 263 gaffs in boxes declared by Toralba to contain gas stoves. The gaffs were hidden inside the stoves, Kubo said.

A gaff is a hooked blade attached to the legs of fighting birds, allowing them to duel to the death, Kubo said.

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

Toralba made a court 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 date to be determined, Kubo said.