Monkey dies after couple ‘tried to hide live animals in their underwear’
Two people have been arrested after trying to sneak through an airport with a trio of baby monkeys hidden in their underwear. RadarOnline.com can report.
However, the absurd plan took a tragic turn when one of the small animals suffocated in the cramped clothing.
The would-be smugglers, a 27-year-old woman and a 26-year-old man, were arrested at Colombia’s Rafael Núñez International Airport. The couple had stuffed the primates down their pants in a twisted attempt to circumvent immigration restrictions.
“At the airport, two people were arrested who were planning to transport primates from Colombia to the Dominican Republic,” local police said in a post on X, adding: “They were carrying three monkeys in their private parts.”
Animals like these can sell for more than a million dollars on the international black market.
Two of the primates were identified as white-faced capuchins, while the third was a howler monkey. The capuchins survived, but the howler monkey did not, after it apparently suffocated in the pants of one of the captors. They are now accused of illegal exploitation of natural resources and wildlife trafficking.
In a statement, Brigadier General Gelver Yecid Peña Araque said: “This practice is evidence of absolute cruelty and a blatant violation of animal rights. The animal died in conditions that we can only describe as inhumane.”
According to the American sunThere is a significant demand for native primates as pets worldwide. But the white-headed capuchin is protected under Appendix III of the Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife Protocol for the Wider Caribbean.
The Colombian Red Howler Monkey is also considered protected under several international rules and regulations.
The couple could be sentenced to 11 years in prison and have to pay a significant fine if found guilty of smuggling.
Following the arrests, police vowed to step up patrols at the airport, warning that they will not allow people with malicious intent to “contraband Colombia’s biodiversity.”
“This crime ripped week-old baby monkeys from their mothers, disrupted fragile ecosystems, endangered a vulnerable species and posed significant public health risks,” the spokesperson said. US Attorney Adam Gordon at the time. “This is not merely an economic crime; it is a serious and lasting damage to both nature and public safety.
“Border security is not just about interdicting drugs and preventing illegal entry, it is also about protecting the public from dangerous diseases. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service helps secure our borders and keep the public safe.”
Ultimately, the three Mexican spider monkeys that were seized and quarantined found a home at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago as part of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums Wildlife Confiscations Network.
