The US District Court for the Southern District of Florida has acquitted Kry Masphal, director of the Forestry Administration’s (FA) Wildlife and Biodiversity Department under the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, of any wrongdoing, for his part in an alleged monkey-smuggling ring.

Masphal was detained in 2022, following a five-year investigation. The Cambodian government then issued frequent denials of the official’s guilt.

“This acquittal represents a fair judgment by a US court, affirming that Cambodian officials have consistently upheld laws, regulations and international conventions,” Im Rachna, spokesperson for the Ministry Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, told The Post on March 25.

The acquittal was first announced by US-based animal activist group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

“A jury has acquitted Masphal Kry of any wrongdoing in an eye-opening monkey-smuggling trial that offered a rare glimpse into the corrupt and cruel business of monkey importation. The verdict was returned moments ago,” said PETA in a March 22 statement.

Masphal was one of eight individuals indicted by the US court for allegedly violating the Convention of International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the US’ Lacey Act and Endangered Species Act.

He was detained at John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York on November 16, 2022, and indicted by the Florida court for conspiring with a Hong Kong-owned company to smuggle long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) into the US between December 2017 and January 2022.

The agriculture ministry noted that the species, also known as crab-eating macaques, are scattered all across Cambodia and can be found not just in the wilderness,l but in urban areas, including the Wat Phnom national heritage site in central Phnom Penh.

Masphal was released on bail on December 27 that year, following protracted calls for his release by the Cambodian government.