On March 22, a jury in Miami, Florida, discovered Cambodian forestry official Kry Masphal not responsible of conspiracy and smuggling in relation to allegations that he was concerned in exporting wild-caught monkeys to the US and falsely labeling them as captive-bred.
Masphal, the director of the Cambodian Forestry Administration’s Division of Wildlife and Biodiversity, was arrested on Nov. 16, 2022 whereas touring by way of the U.S. to a global wildlife convention. The arrest got here after a five-year investigation led by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that centered across the surge in monkey exports from Cambodia to the U.S. throughout the COVID-19 pandemic because the demand for primates to check vaccines on soared.
Masphal was one among eight folks named in an indictment unsealed by the U.S. Division of Justice in 2022, however he was the one defendant to look in court docket.
In full: https://information.mongabay.com/2024/03/cambodian-official-acquitted-in-trial-that-exposed-monkey-laundering-scheme/
