A man from Texas has been sentenced to four months in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution for trafficking six endangered spider monkeys. The crime was discovered when a co-conspirator tried to smuggle three undeclared monkeys into the U.S. Officials traced the smuggling operation back to Sarmad Ghaled Dafar, who used an alias to conduct the trafficking. Evidence from Facebook messages and phone searches was used to prosecute Dafar, who was eventually arrested in Texas. The monkeys that were seized were quarantined and eventually found a permanent home at the Brookfield Zoo in Illinois. The monkeys were found to be malnourished and traumatized, but have since been rehabilitated. Mexican spider monkeys are an endangered species, and the trafficking of these animals poses significant risks to both wildlife and public safety. The crime of smuggling these animals involves separating baby monkeys from their mothers, disrupting ecosystems, endangering a vulnerable species, and potentially spreading dangerous diseases like Ebola and monkeypox. The case highlights the ongoing issue of wildlife trafficking in the U.S., with spider monkey seizures on the rise. Wildlife experts emphasize the harm caused to both the animals and their natural habitats when species are illegally trafficked for profit.
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