Cambodia’s second-highest-ranking wildlife official is in US custody and charged with helping run an international monkey-smuggling crime ring. The official, Masphal Kry, was arrested while transiting through JFK International Airport in New York. He was en route to the World Wildlife Conference in Panama, where he was meant to join other officials from around the world in crafting better wildlife protection laws. US officials allege that he and another Cambodian official abetted the trafficking of endangered long-tail macaques to buyers in the US. The World’s Patrick Winn is following the story from Bangkok.