A man traveling from Bangkok to Dubai was arrested for animal smuggling during a layover in India recently when a customs officer noticed a monkey in his trousers.
Officials at the New Delhi Airport noticed something poking around in the young man’s nether regions as he was passing through security. Upon a body search, officials found a six to seven inch slender loris monkey packed in a polythene bag and hidden in his underwear, the Hindustan Times reported.
The young man told officials that he wanted the animal for a pet and had bought it in Bangkok.
The man was traveling with two others, and one of his companions reportedly threw away a monkey that he was smuggling into a trashcan. The monkey was apprehended, along with the other suspect.
The customs department at the New Delhi Airport decided to hold one of the young men for smuggling wild animals and the other for aiding him. The third was allowed to go free.
“The monkeys were almost unconscious because they had not been given anything to eat. They were sent to Raja Garden for treatment, where they are recovering fast,” a customs official told the Hindustan Times.
Bangkok’s Chatuchak Park has been identified by police as an area where illegal wildlife is sold, including lorises.
