Man tries to smuggle Titi monkeys through Mexico City airport

A man was found within the Mexico City International Airport with 18 Titi monkeys strapped around his torso. These monkeys, much like numerous other endangered species, are traded on the black market for high profit margins. Police in the Mexico City International Airport discovered the Titi monkeys and arrested the smuggler. If Roberto Zavaleta Sol Cabrera had really sold the Titi monkeys he was trying to smuggle, he would have made $ 27,000 or more.

Smuggled Titi monkeys found in Mexico City airport

In the Mexico City International Airport, airport police spotted a man who looked "very nervous." Roberto Zavaleta Sol Cabrera was "trying to conceal a large lump in his jumpsuit." This raised the curiosity of police, and they found 18 Titi monkeys under his clothes. Stuffed into socks and strapped to his waist, two of the monkeys had already died. The smuggler told police that he traveled with the monkeys like this because he wanted to "protect them from the x-ray scanners."

The basics of the Titi monkey

The Titi monkey is a tiny monkey native to South America. The 10 to 22 inch monkeys are known for their long, soft fur. The monkeys live in family groups, protect their territory, and eat a wide variety of plants and bugs. The Titi monkey is protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Titi monkeys are also heavily regulated by the Mexican government. The trade in primates as pets is big in Mexico, despite these restrictions.

Profit for black market animals is big

Though many animals are either limited or banned in numerous countries, there is a thriving black market trade. The Titi monkeys were purchased for $ 30 apiece by the smuggler. In Mexico City, Roberto would have made $ 1,550 per monkey, if he had sold them. Within the United States, the monkeys would have been sold to pet stores or collectors for $ 3,000 or more. The black market trade in animals is very dangerous for the pet buyers and the animals, but is proving very difficult to quash.