He’s been the toast of Tampa Bay for over a year. A macaque monkey which apparently escaped from a zoo, had been running amok in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area, taunting authorities and winning over legions of adoring fans. But the elusive mystery monkey hasn’t been seen in the area in several months, leading many locals to believe he may have been captured - or worse.

Until today, when a Florida animal-control officer spotted a news article on the Internet, showing the monkey alive and well and serving on a police force in Thailand. Dressed in a uniform, no less.

“That’s him! I know it’s him!,” exclaimed Clearwater biologist Rees Kirk. “I can’t mistake that shit-eatin’ grin. The little bastard!”

A phone call to the police department in Thailand’s coastal city of Phuket (pronounced “fuck it”) confirmed Kirk’s suspicions. The Tampa mystery monkey is now serving on the local police force there. He was even promoted to sergeant last week.

Apparently, the sly simian wandered into one of Tampa’s shipyards and found his way onto an ocean-going vessel, eventually ending up in the south Asian port. How the mystery monkey turned up on a Thai police force remains unknown, though it is not uncommon for police departments in the country to recruit monkeys and chimpanzees into service as police officers.

“He’s been a good officer so far,” said a lieutenant on the police force in Phuket. “He sniffs for bombs and picks up coconuts around here. He’s been a great help to us.”