Wooden box of ‘beer’ was actually hiding a spider monkey at the Texas border, feds say

A woman crossing the U.S. border into Texas said the wooden box in her vehicle was holding beer she bought in Mexico, according to federal authorities.

But when U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers opened the box with holes on March 21, they found a live spider monkey, according to a Nov. 1 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.

The woman was referred to a secondary inspection at the Gateway International Bridge in Brownsville, where authorities said she “refused to comply with their instructions and instead sped off, running a traffic light and nearly colliding with officers and other vehicles.”

She pleaded guilty to smuggling wildlife into the U.S. in federal court on Nov. 1, according to court records.

“As the Assistant U.S. Attorney indicated in open court, the defendant fully cooperated in the recovery of the monkey and is remorseful,” defense attorney Alejandro Dominguez said in a statement to McClatchy News.

After the Katy, Texas, resident, fled from officers, agents found online advertisements about a spider monkey for sale in the Katy and Houston areas that same day, according to the news release. The sale listings included her phone number.

About a week later, on March 28, officials said the woman turned herself in. She admitted to importing a monkey without declaring it and fleeing from officers.

The spider monkey was taken to a Central Florida animal shelter, according to the release.

She is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 25. She faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Katy is about 30 miles west of Houston and 350 miles northeast of Brownsville, on the southern Texas border.

This story was originally published November 2, 2022 at 10:34 AM with the headline "Wooden box of ‘beer’ was actually hiding a spider monkey at the Texas border, feds say."