Couple arrested after 'drugging monkeys at botanical garden so they could sell them on the black market'

A couple was arrested Monday after they allegedly drugged monkeys they intended to kidnap from a botanical garden to sell on the black market in Brazil.

The suspects, Luis Siqueira and Sarah Silva, applied doses of clonazepam to pieces of bananas that were placed on top of leaves to attract the animals, the Rio de Janeiro Civil Police said.

The police said that Siqueira and Silva had plans of selling the monkeys at an illegal fair.

Workers at the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden became worried after they noticed the strange behavior of two monkeys on September 1, according to Brazilian news outlet G1.

Disturbing footage taken by an employee showed one of the monkeys trying to stand and grab on a branch when it suddenly fell on its side.

It then leaned over the stick but lost its balance because of the effects of the sedative.

The monkeys were sent to the Free Life Institute, a local non-profit that specializes in the rehabilitation and release of animals to the wild, and tests confirmed that they had been drugged.

In addition, the Free Life Institute found that the monkeys showed signs that they were breastfeeding and that their babies may have been separated from them.

Workers began to investigate how the monkeys were poisoned and discovered the couple’s suspicious behavior through the park’s surveillance system.

They spotted Siqueira and Silva at the park on Monday and immediately called the police.

Cops from the Leblon station were dispatched and found bananas and a package of clonazepam in the couple’s bags.

Siqueira and Silva each face two counts of environmental crimes. The penalties range from three months to a year in prison for each charge.