300 tarantulas clinging to his belly... He wanted to take them back home...
November 8: a 28-year-old Korean man attempts to smuggle more than 300 tarantulas out of Peru.
The young man was arrested at Lima's Jorge Chavez international airport. When he arrived at security, it was his swollen belly that gave him away. Agents then conducted a thorough search, stumbling upon dozens of boxes and plastic bags. As you may have guessed, these containers were filled with tarantulas and various insects: 35 adult tarantulas, 285 juvenile tarantulas, 9 bullet ants and 110 millipedes... All carefully attached to his body by two belts, reports La Dépêche.
The Korean wanted to bring all this “wriggling” beauty back to South Korea. According to the Peruvian National Forestry and Wildlife Service (Serfor), the animals come from the Madre de Dios region in southeastern Peru.
Experts believe that the purpose of the ploy was to obtain a large sum of money. Amazonian tarantulas are worth around $5,000 each in Asia, or 4,700 euros. As Interpol points out, the illegal trafficking of exotic wild animals generates $20 billion every year.
An investigation is currently underway against the traveler, who was planning to fly to South Korea via France.
(MH with AsD - Source : La Dépêche - Illustration : Unsplash)