Customs officials (left, not exactly as shown) at Mexico City’s airport detained a Peruvian man (right, not exactly as shown) carrying 18 baby monkeys, including two which had died, hidden under his clothes, federal police said.

"The Titi monkeys were found hidden in a band tied around the man’s body," a statement said.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports the discovery was made when the 38-year-old man appeared edgy during random checks on passengers off a flight from Lima, Peru, it said.

Titi monkeys — found in Central and South America — are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).