Agriculture Ministry Defends Indicted Officials Caught in Monkey-Smuggling Ring

The Agriculture Ministry backed two of its employees who have been charged with smuggling long-tailed macaques — and one of whom was arrested in the U.S. on Wednesday — and said it would make the “utmost efforts” to absolve them.

Agriculture Ministry official Kry Masphal was arrested in New York, U.S., on Wednesday after a federal court issued an arrest warrant for him and another senior ministry official Keo Omaliss. Masphal is Cambodia’s representative to the CITES wildlife convention and deputy director of the wildlife department, whereas Omaliss is the head of the Forestry Administration and REDD+ forest protection program.

CITES, or the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, is a global treaty that protects against international trade of plants and animals, while REDD+ is a conservation program aimed at reducing emissions from deforestation. The ministry released a statement Thursday night saying it was “surprised and saddened” at the arrest of Masphal as he was transiting to a CITES conference in Panama.

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