Woman pleads guilty after attempting to smuggle spider monkeys into Texas

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Priscilla Sanchez (Source: Webb County Sheriff's Office) Case photo of monkeys seized by CBP agents. (Source: Southern District of Texas)

TEXAS - A woman who tried to smuggle five spider monkeys hidden inside a duffle bag into Texas from Mexico has pleaded guilty to the charges, according to federal court documents from the Southern District of Texas.

Smuggling Spider Monkeys

The backstory:

According to court documents, Sanchez arrived at the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge in an SUV on Jan. 13. She told Customs and Border Protection officers she had nothing to declare. She was sent to a secondary screening where officers investigated a duffle bag that was on her center console.

Court documents say the monkeys were all wearing diapers and were hidden inside the duffle bag.

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Texas Border Patrol find spider monkey hidden in backpack, 2 U.S. citizens arrested

A spider monkey and more than $980,000 in cocaine were intercepted at the Texas-Mexico border last weekend, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Spider monkeys are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

Sanchez admitted to keeping monkeys at her house and selling them for between $300 and $500 each, according to court records. She also admitted she knew it was illegal to smuggle a spider monkey into the U.S. without proper documentation.

What's next:

She faces up to 20 years in prison. Her sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 1, 2025.