Smuggling wild animals into Arizona gets a man one year in prison

PHOENIX – A Phoenix man and his mother have been sentenced for smuggling wildlife from Mexico to Arizona, authorities announced last week.

Raymond Anthony Rabago Montoya, 23, was sentenced earlier this month to one year and one day in prison followed by three years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.

His mother, Griselda Guadalupe Montoya-Gastelum, 50, of Sonora, Mexico, was sentenced in July to 18 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

Their cases are related to one involving a man who was arrested last year for trying to sell tiger cubs to undercover Phoenix police.

How did mother and son poach wildlife in Arizona?

Rabago Montoya and Montoya-Gastelum pleaded guilty in April to conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act, a federal law that prohibits illegal trade in wildlife, fish and plants.

Mother and son smuggled rare and endangered animals from Mexico to the United States through ports of entry.

Their wildlife trafficking schemes included tigers, panthers, monkeys and exotic parrots, prosecutors said.

“We are also seeing the people of Arizona benefit from the cover-up of illegal activities at the ports of Nogales and Lukeville,” US Attorney Gary Restaino said in a news release. “The sentences imposed send a strong message of deterrence and the importance of strong environmental protection.”

How did the authorities discover their wildlife trafficking scheme?

The US Department of Fish and Wildlife began investigating the defendants in August 2022, prosecutors said.

Authorities became aware of the mother-son wildlife trade after the buyer of four Rabago Montoya parrots reported suspicions that the birds had been imported illegally.

While investigating the allegations, investigators became aware of a man in Arizona who was illegally selling wild animals.

Undercover officers responded to an ad offering tiger cubs for sale by Carlos Castro in January 2023.

A search of her Phoenix home turned up a cub trapped in a dog house in a closet, along with a kookaburra, 12 snapping turtles, six tortoises and boxes of other reptiles.

Castro was later convicted of illegal wildlife trafficking. He was sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to pay $6,000 in child support restitution.

The tiger, Indy, was 23 pounds when he was rescued, according to Wildcats Sanctuary, which adopted him at 6 months old.

How a mother and son who were smuggling wild animals were caught

Federal agents found Facebook ads promoting spider monkeys. They bought two monkeys from Rabago Montoya and Montoya-Gastelum for $6,000 each.

In June and August 2023, police caught up with Rabago Montoya and found several endangered parrots hidden in his car. Many of them were dead, prosecutors said.

Edward Grace, deputy director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, said wildlife trafficking is illegal and immoral.

“Countless animals taken from the wild are smuggled across borders under inhumane conditions,” Grace said in the release. “In the case of spider monkeys, many of the animals that are sold die due to poor care, while those that are alive face a life in captivity.”

The discovery of exotic dead birds in Rabago Montoya’s car led to the arrest and prosecution of him and his mother.

“We hope this case highlights that the US Fish and Wildlife Service and our partners will continue to ensure that those involved in the wildlife trade are brought to justice,” Grace said.