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Phoenix Man Sentenced for Smuggling Exotic Animals

A young man from Phoenix has been sentenced to prison for smuggling exotic animals into the United States with the intent to sell them. Raymond Anthony Rabago Montoya, 23, will serve one year and one day behind bars, followed by three years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Arizona.

Rabago Montoya and his mother, who had already been sentenced, worked together to illegally import a variety of exotic animals from Mexico, including tigers, panthers, monkeys, and rare parrots. The illegal activity first came to light in 2022 when a buyer reported that parrots they had purchased from Rabago Montoya were allegedly smuggled into the country.

The case escalated when authorities searched Rabago Montoya’s property in January 2023. During the search, officials uncovered a tiger cub, an alligator, snapping turtles, tortoises, and multiple reptiles housed in boxes.

Authorities also discovered that Rabago Montoya was advertising spider monkeys for sale on Facebook. In April and May 2023, undercover agents purchased two monkeys from him, paying $6,000 for each. Further investigation revealed that Rabago Montoya had been transporting endangered parrots in his vehicle. In June and August of 2023, law enforcement found dozens of the birds in his car, many of which were already dead.

Rabago Montoya was charged in September and arrested shortly after. Speaking about the case, Edward Grace, Assistant Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement, said, “Wildlife trafficking is illegal and immoral, as countless animals that are taken from the wild are smuggled across borders in inhumane conditions. In the case of spider monkeys, many trafficked animals perish due to inadequate care, while those that survive face a life of captivity.”