A Texas man is facing time behind bars for smuggling spider monkeys into the country and attempting to sell them on Facebook. The Texas man smuggled six baby spider monkeys from Mexico.
He then tried to sell them on social media. Now, Texas native Sarmad Ghaled Dafar is serving four months in jail. He was also sentenced to six months of home arrest and had to pay 23,501.70 in restitution. Spider monkeys are endangered animals. The San Diego Zoo ended up quarantining and housing three of the monkeys at their facilities, racking up significant costs.
"This crime ripped weeks-old baby monkeys from their mothers, disrupted fragile ecosystems, endangered a vulnerable species, and posed significant public health risks," said US Attorney Adam Gordon. "This is not merely an economic crime; it is a severe and lasting injury to both wildlife and public safety."
Between 2022 and 2023, The Texas man smuggled spider monkeys into the country. He used Facebook as a platform to try to sell the animals.
"I have monkey coming in 2 week baby monkey...Is a spider monkey... [I'll] let you know when it is here because they gonna send it to me from California," Dafar wrote the client. "Is a spider monkey thos[e] kind go[e]s for 15k and up but I ask 8k."
Smuggling Spider Monkeys
He then sent a picture of the animal under a heat lamp to the person on Facebook. Apparently, the Texas man praised his on genuis as a smuggler of the exotic animals. He explained that he smuggled babies because they were quieter and easier to hide.
"And all adults they make a lot noise and they active. Baby's most be sleeping and small to hide," Dafar wrote in response to another smuggler getting busted.
Officials were concerned about potential viruses in the animals and had three animals quarantined.
"Some of the most dangerous zoonotic diseases are those that transfer from primates to humans, such as Ebola, Marburg, monkeypox, and simian immunodeficiency virus," the US Attorney's Office said.
It's sad to see stories like this. I hope the spider monkeys have a better future.
