A Houston man has been sentenced for smuggling spider monkeys into the United States. According to the Department of Justice, 33-year-old Sarmad Ghaled Dafar will serve four months in federal custody and 180 days of home confinement for trafficking baby Mexican spider monkeys—an endangered species—across the southern border.
Dafar was also ordered to pay more than $23,000 in restitution to cover the cost of quarantining three of the trafficked animals at the San Diego Zoo. According to court documents, he was the central figure in a smuggling operation that ran from June 2022 to August 2023. He coordinated with suppliers in Mexico, received the animals once they crossed the border, and advertised them for sale on social media—specifically Facebook.
Federal agents first uncovered Dafar’s scheme in August 2023 when a co-conspirator was caught trying to bring three of the baby monkeys through the Calexico West Port of Entry. A search of the smuggler’s phone revealed messages, images, and direct evidence linking the operation to Dafar.
Prosecutors said Dafar deliberately targeted baby monkeys, believing they would be easier to hide due to their size and silence. He even mocked a previous failed smuggling attempt involving adult monkeys, saying the smuggler was “stupid” for trying to bring noisy, active adults across the border instead of small, quiet infants.
Photos shared by Dafar revealed the disturbing reality: helpless monkeys dressed in diapers, lying under heat lamps—some priced as high as $8,000 apiece. Wildlife experts warn that capturing baby spider monkeys typically involves killing the mother and other troop members who try to protect her—making the crime not only illegal, but savagely inhumane.
Genetic testing at the San Diego Zoo confirmed the seized monkeys were each taken from different mothers, a clear sign of the violence that likely occurred during their capture. “This crime ripped weeks-old baby monkeys from their mothers, disrupted fragile ecosystems, endangered a vulnerable species, and posed significant public health risks,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon.
The DOJ also stressed the danger smuggled primates pose to public health, citing risks of transmitting diseases like monkeypox and Ebola. Dafar ignored federal quarantine protocols intended to prevent such threats.
Thankfully, the three surviving monkeys—now named Chrissy, Jack, and Janet—have found refuge at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, where they’ve joined other rescued spider monkeys. But the fate of three additional monkeys smuggled by Dafar remains unknown.
This case highlights not just a horrific abuse of innocent animals, but a broader failure to secure the southern border—where trafficking is not limited to drugs and humans but extends to endangered wildlife as well. Dafar is expected to surrender by May 29 to begin serving his sentence.
