The news was welcomed with joy at the Londe-les-Maures zoological park (Var).
Three squirrel monkeys which had been stolen from this zoo last week were found in Marseille, La Provence reported this Friday.
Information confirmed to Le Parisien by zoo staff.
14 specimens of this species native to South America had disappeared from their enclosure last week during the night from Friday to Saturday, according to Var Matin.
The guards discovered the next morning that the door had been forced.
The La Londe-les-Maures gendarmerie opened an investigation and the zoo launched a call for witnesses to try to find them.
On the black market, a specimen of this species can be exchanged for 3,500 euros, according to La Provence.
A suspect arrested
This Friday, the local daily indicates that a suspect, a 19-year-old man, was arrested Tuesday in the Cité de la Sauvagère, in the southern districts of Marseille.
A primate was found during the operation in a cellar in the city.
The young man was indicted Thursday evening, again according to our colleagues.
Following this operation, two other monkeys were handed over to the Marseille SPA by a woman who claims that they were given to her by a hooded man in the parking lot of a cemetery, further north, in the 12th arrondissement.
While the first monkey has already been recovered by a zoo keeper, the other two – a mother and her baby – were also due to be returned to the park this Friday according to our colleagues.
The investigation continues to try to find the 11 other missing primates.