A man from Texas was broken for vulnerable Mexican Baby Single Single, who were too young to be separated from their mother, in San Diego and sell them on Facebook.
Sarmad Ghaled Dafar, 33, was recently sentenced to four months in detention and 180 days of home detention for the trafficking of six of young primates, according to the United States Ministry of Justice.
Fish and Wildlife Service agents discovered his crimes in 2023 when they intercepted three Mexican spider monkeys who had been billed through the Calexico border by someone who worked for him, prosecutors said.
Not only is it illegal to have primates like pets in California, but it is also particularly disapproved of having spider monkeys. The species is threatened and infants need constant and qualified care to survive.
“This crime has torn babies for a few weeks from their mother, disturbed fragile ecosystems, endangered a vulnerable species and posed significant risks for public health,” said US Atty. Adam Gordon in a statement on Friday.
After the authorities seized the three monkeys in August 2023, they searched the smuggler’s phone and found messages indicating that he brought the animals on the other side of the border for Dafar.
In his advocacy agreement, Dafar admitted to having coordinated the trafficking of spider monkeys, receiving them in the United States and organizing their sale.
The three confiscated monkeys – named Chrissy, Jack and Janet – were temporarily quarantined at the San Diego zoo. As part of his sentence, Dafar was ordered to pay more than $ 23,500 on return for the cost of their forties.
The monkeys have since been permanently hosted at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, alongside two other spider monkeys, named Frankee and Bucees, who were seized in a separate southwest border contraband case, the prosecutors help.
During the investigation, officials discovered that Dafar had already passed the smuggling and sold at least three other Mexican spider monkeys in June 2022 and July 2023.
Their fate are unknown.
These three additional monkeys have not been quarantined, which is required by law to prevent fatal diseases – such as Ebola, Marburg and Mpox – to spread from humans to humans, prosecutors said.
“It is not just an economic crime; it is a serious and lasting injury both the fauna and public security,” said Gordon. “Borders safety is not only to ban drugs and prevent illegal entrances. This also involves protecting the public from dangerous diseases. ”
The investigation indicated that Dafar intentionally tampered with spider monkeys, despite the risk of separating them from their mother, because he thought they were easier to hide.
When a Facebook user sent Dafar to a press article on Spider Monkeys seized by the American border patrol agents, he replied: “He stupid bit (g) to (o) many of them and all adults, he makes a lot of noise and they are active. The most baby is the most slept and small to hide, ”according to court documents.
Dafar sent a message to potential customers on Facebook and sent photos of baby spider monkeys in diapers and under a heating lamp, the two signs indicating that primates are too young to survive by themselves, prosecutors said.
Spider Monkey was generally going to heal during their first two years of life, and most will stay close to their mother until the age of 4.
Their mothers are protective, and the whole troop will work together to defend the baby in the face of a threat, according to testimonies from us, agents of fauna and fauna. As a result, poachers will often kill the mother and troops when they try to capture babies.
The genetic tests of Chrissy, Jack and Janet indicated that they all had separate mothers, which means that it is possible that the poachers killed many monkeys to capture them.
Dafar was sentenced to May 29 at the latest on May 29, prosecutors said.
California Daily Newspapers
