Federal Police arrest suspected smuggler of golden lion tamarins

Brazil’s Federal Police on Thursday (Sep. 19) carried out Operation Cifra Dourada (“Golden Cipher”) to dismantle a group specializing in the domestic and international trafficking of endangered wild animals from the Brazilian fauna.

In the crackdown, agents served a search and seizure warrant in the municipality of Cabo Frio, in Rio de Janeiro state, against a man suspected of being a professional hunter of golden lion tamarins, responsible for supplying these animals to a group that took them abroad.

At least seven of the animals found had the same origin: the Municipal Natural Park of the Golden Lion Tamarin, in Cabo Frio. Traps used to hunt the tamarins were also seized.

A criminal investigation will be carried out by the Federal Police to estimate which specimens had recently been taken from the wild, which had been in captivity for a few months, and which had already been in captivity for more than a year. Biological material was collected from the animals for in-depth forensic examinations.

The man was caught in flagrante delicto for the crime of professional hunting of wild animals, illegally keeping wild animals in captivity, ill-treatment, and using a false bird band. He will also face charges of aggravated trafficking and endangering the life or health of others.

Operation Akpé

In February 2024, as part of Operation Akpé, the Federal Police repatriated 17 golden lion tamarins and 12 Lear’s macaws that had been victims of international trafficking and were in Togo, West Africa. The animals are endemic to certain areas of Brazilian territory and are seriously threatened with extinction. In August this year, in the municipality of Porto Velho, 11 wild animals were seized, including eight golden lion tamarins.