Police are investigating a case pertaining to exotic animal trafficking after raiding the home of Hip-Hop producer and Love and Hip-Hop star, Mally Mall in his Encino home in California.
According to CBS News, officers seized a cotton-top tamarin monkey from the home after a search warrant was served on Wednesday by Los Angeles police and California Department of Fish and Wildlife agents.
The monkey is “critically endangered”, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Capt. Patrick Foy from the California DFW informed TMZ that a serval cat and a spider monkey were taken from the house. Mall was at home during the raid and was arrested.
“The department officers will file a report with either the LA City Attorney or the LA District Attorney. The attorney’s office will decide if violations were committed,” he said.
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The producer, who has worked with prominent artists such as Drake, Justin Bieber, Future and Snoop Dogg according to his website, is known for posting pictures of exotic animals on his Instagram.
On the social media platform, Mall has pictures and videos of animals including a cheetah, a capuchin monkey and a caracal cat. This particular species of cat is known to come from areas such as Africa the Middle East, Central Asia, and India.
It hasn’t been revealed how the animals were taken or if there was a permit requirement.
This isn’t the first time news has circulated about Mall’s ties with exotic animals. In 2016, a health department investigated a situation surrounding the producer taking a capuchin monkey to a strip club.
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California is known to have strict laws pertaining to exotic animals such as big cats and monkeys.
Chris Brown was charged with two misdemeanor counts for being accused of having a pet monkey without a permit in December.