NATIONAL BRIEFING / NEW YORK
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A federal judge in Brooklyn has rejected a Liberian woman’s religious reasons for smuggling meat from an endangered monkey into the country.
U.S. District Judge Raymond J. Dearie ruled Wednesday that Mamie Manneh’s faith didn’t preclude her from applying for permits to import exotic food.
Manneh was charged with smuggling the meat three years ago after customs agents seized a shipment of primate parts at Kennedy Airport.
Manneh’s lawyers argued that some Liberian Christians eat monkey meat for spiritual reasons. She faces up to five years in prison and deportation if convicted.
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