Brazil's federal police and environmental protection agency have repatriated 12 Lear's macaw parrots and 17 native golden lion marmosets suspected of having been illegally trafficked to Togo.
The animals had crossed the Atlantic on a Brazilian-flagged sailboat, which was intercepted by Togolese police when it ran into trouble on its coast.
Four men were arrested on the boat.
Each macaw is worth between 60,000 and 100,000 dollars in clandestine markets;
The marmosets cost $15,000 each, according to sources close to the investigation.
The animals were in poor condition and in cages contaminated with motor oil, so they would require prolonged rehabilitation before being reintegrated into the wild.
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