Man With 18 Titi Monkeys Wrapped Around His Waist Arrested at Mexico City Airport

Mexican authorities arrested a man at Mexico City International Airport (AICM) trying to smuggle 18 small titi monkeys into the country.

Photo: Man With 18 Titi Monkeys Wrapped Around His Waist Arrested at Mexico City Airport

Roberto Sol Cabrera was routinely checked upon arriving from the Peruvian capital of Lima.

Authorities said Sol Cabrera had been behaving nervously and once checked, police discovered he was hiding 18 Titi monkeys wrapped around his waist in a girdle. Each monkey had been individually placed into socks or tights .

After his arrest, Sol Cabrera told police he had paid $30 dollars for each specimen in Peru and had placed them in his luggage and had then hidden them in his clothing to protect them from being harmed by X-rays while going through customs, NTDTV reports.

Titi monkeys are a protected species under CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, which exists to ensure international trade in different species of animals does not threaten their survival.

Authorities are investigating the case further and he has remained in custody, authorities said.

He initially placed the small mammals in his briefcase and then decided not to as they might have been harmed by the X-ray device upon his luggage being screened, The Epoch Times reports.