According to UPI, the 20-year-old Savannah Nicole Valdez was arrested on 21 March 2022 when she tried to enter the United States through Brownsville, Texas, with the primate, officials said in a statement.

Eagle-eyed officers at the border spotted a wooden box with holes inside her car, which she said contained beer she had bought in Mexico.

Officers discovered a live spider monkey inside the box and directed her to pull over for a secondary inspection.

Valdez refused and sped off, running a traffic light and "nearly colliding with officers and other vehicles," officials said.

Investigators later found online ads for the sale of a spider monkey with her phone number listed.

Valdez turned herself in to law enforcement on 28 March and pleaded guilty to smuggling wildlife into the United States without first declaring and invoicing it and fleeing an immigration checkpoint on 2 November.

The monkey was taken to an animal shelter in Florida, where it is "safely living", according to officials.

Valdez is scheduled to be sentenced in January 2023, and if convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250 000 fine.

"Smuggling in endangered species for commercial gain is a tragic crime against nature's precious resources," said Craig Larrabee, acting special agent in charge for Homeland Security Investigations in San Antonio.

"HSI takes every opportunity to join our federal, private sector and international partners to share our knowledge, experience and investigative techniques designed to protect and preserve threatened and endangered species."

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