MAGNETO NEWS by Courtney Hooper.

Airport security at Mexico City’s international airport arrested a man after finding 18 small, endangered titi monkeys in his possession.

Roberto Cabrera, 38, arrived on a commercial flight from Lima, Peru. He was hiding the 6-inch titi monkeys in a girdle he was wearing. Authorities searched the man after becoming suspicious of bulges visible from under his clothing and arrested him for trafficking an endangered species.

After his arrest, Cabrera confessed the animals had been inside socks hidden in his luggage. Two of the monkeys had died by the time they were confiscated. Cabrera told Police he decided to put the monkeys in his girdle “so the X-rays wouldn’t hurt them” when going through customs. When questioned, the monkey-smuggler also revealed he paid US$30 for each specimen while in Peru. They are estimated to be worth between US$775-1550.

The confiscated titi monkeys are a protected species under the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, and a permit is required to obtain and posses the animals, the Public Safety Secretariat said.