Teenagers who stole a monkey from a zoo to shoot selfies and videos have been sentenced to three and a half years behind bars.
The accused, named as Rustam O. 20, Yaroslav S. 19 and Ivan C. 21, whose full names were not given for legal reasons, were convicted during a hearing at the Regional Court in Chemnitz in Germany, on Wednesday, 23rd April.
Image shows the stolen lion-tailed macaque (Macaca silenus) Ruma, undated photo. Two teens, aged 17 and 18, who kidnapped it, are set to appear in court. Note: Licensed content. (Leipzig Zoo/NF/newsX)
The trio who were all teenagers at the time of the theft were seized by police last year (2024) for a series of robberies, with their most famous offence being the bizarre kidnapping of a female lion-tailed macaque named Ruma from Leipzig Zoo.
The theft had baffled police even after Ruma was found in nearby woodlands by keepers three days after she was snatched from her enclosure.
It was only cracked when the three suspects were later arrested over a series of robberies and police found images of then-15-year-old Ruma on their phones.
Image shows the three defendants, undated photo. They stole a female monkey (Macaca silenus) named Ruma, 15, from Leipzig Zoo, Germany. Note: Photo is a screenshot from a video. (NF/newsX)
One bizarre clip reportedly showed the monkey being driven along in the front passenger seat of a car, apparently relaxed and untroubled.
The three drove Ruma to Chemnitz and kept her in a garage before deciding to release her.
Police said the zoo break-in had caused more than EUR 130,000 of damage and shaken Ruma has since been transferred to a zoo in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Image shows the stolen lion-tailed macaque (Macaca silenus) Ruma (right), undated photo. Two teens, aged 17 and 18, who kidnapped it, are set to appear in court. Note: Photo is a screenshot from a video. (NF/newsX)
The three suspects were facing more than six years in jail over the robbery and monkey-napping charges.
However, they have now been ordered to serve a more lenient sentence of three and a half years each.
(Simona Kitanovska / newsX)