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A Brownsville woman is under arrest after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers determined she was trying to smuggle a Mexican spider monkey into the country.
Ilse Georgina Herrera, who was born in 1987, is charged with conspiring to illegally import wildlife into the United States.
CBP encountered Herrera on Wednesday at the Gateway International Bridge in Brownsville.
“Herrera told officers her child had a doctor’s appointment in Matamoros, Mexico,” a criminal complaint stated.
CBP then referred her for a secondary inspection because her Lawful Permanent Resident card was expired.
“While the vehicle was being escorted to vehicle secondary, a passenger got out of the vehicle and was not following officers’ instructions,” the complaint stated. “The passenger had a blanket on and was not responding to officers.”
The complaint does not identify who this passenger is.
“The officer’s removed the blanket from the person for officer safety and the passenger told officers he was carrying a pet that he just bought from a friend in Mexico,” the complaint stated. “The officer looked in the bag and discovered a Mexican spider monkey.”
Homeland Security Investigations special agents responded to the bridge and interviewed Herrera, who told them she took the monkey into Mexico to obtain medication for it because it was sick.
“During Herrera’s inspection, agents found messages between Herrera and a subject outlining how to successfully conceal and smuggle the monkey into the United States,” the complaint stated. “The messages outlined how to distract officers with loud music and have your entry documents ready for inspection.”
The Mexican spider monkey is protected and regulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna, according to the complaint.
Herrera did not possess an import permit or license.
She made a first appearance Friday morning in Brownsville federal court in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen Betancourt who ordered her held without bond pending a detention hearing scheduled for next week.
