a fifth monkey kidnapped from a Var zoo found, two suspects arrested

A squirrel monkey stolen from a zoo in Var was found on Saturday February 3 in Oise, and two suspects were arrested, the Beauvais prosecutor’s office announced Wednesday February 7 to France Bleu Picardie, confirming information from Courrier Picard.

The squirrel monkey is a protected species, native to South America. These primates are protected by the Washington Convention. On the night of Friday January 26 to Saturday January 27, 14 monkeys were kidnapped from the La Londe-les-Maures zoological park in the Var.

The circumstances of its acquisition remain to be clarified

Four monkeys have already been found in Marseille. The fifth was therefore discovered on Saturday in Picardy. It had been purchased on a social network and found in Oise. Two people were arrested and placed in police custody for “illegal possession of protected species”France Bleu Picardie learned from the Beauvais public prosecutor’s office.

“If the investigations made it possible to determine that the animal did indeed come from the Var establishment which was the victim of theft, the circumstances in which the accused found themselves in its possession and in particular their knowledge of the fraudulent origin, remain to be determined. to specify”adds the public prosecutor of Beauvais, Frédéric Trinh.

The animal was, this Wednesday evening, being transferred to the Var, France Bleu Picardie learned. In France, it is obligatory to obtain a certificate of capacity to keep these animals in captivity.