NYC Woman Gets Probation for Smuggling Monkey Skulls, Parts
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A New York City woman who was caught smuggling monkey meat through Customs has been sentenced to probation.
Mamie Manneh was arrested in 2006 after agents seized a shipment of dozens of primate parts hidden in a batch of smoked fish.
The boxes included the skulls, limbs and torsos of monkeys and baboons. She was charged with smuggling endangered species.
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Manneh's lawyers argued that she and other African immigrants on Staten Island needed the meat for religious reasons.
The judge ultimately rejected that defense but gave Manneh a lenient sentence because she has 11 children and is mentally ill.