Cambodian Official Arrested in US Over Alleged Monkey-Smuggling Ring

An Agriculture Ministry official was arrested in New York — and the Forestry Administration’s director is also wanted — for a U.S. felony indictment over smuggling long-tailed macaques.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida issued a statement overnight saying Masphal Kry, the Forestry Administration’s deputy director of wildlife and biodiversity, was arrested on Wednesday at John F. Kennedy International Airport, leading to the unsealing of an indictment against an alleged wild monkey smuggling ring.

The indictment charges two officials of the Forestry Administration as well as six members of a “major primate supply organization,” including its owner and general manager. Forestry Administration director Keo Omaliss is the second of the two Agriculture Ministry officials charged. If convicted, each defendant faces up to five years in prison on the charge of conspiracy, and up to 20 years on seven smuggling charges, the statement said.

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