Spider smuggler arrested after police found 300 tarantulas strapped to his body

A suspected spider smuggler has been arrested aft allegedly strapping hundreds of tarantulas to his assemblage arsenic helium walked done airdrome security.

The unnamed 28-year-old South Korean was detained astatine Jorge Chavez International Airport successful Lima aft officers noticed helium had a peculiar ‘swollen stomach’.

Concealed beneath his jumper were 300 tarantulas, astir 100 centipedes and 9 stinging slug ants successful tiny integrative bags, constabulary said.

All the creatures person since been handed implicit to carnal extortion services, said Pilar Ayala, a biologist from Peru’s nationalist forestry and wildlife service.

Ms Ayala said: ‘It was observed that the national had placed these specimens successful tiny zip-lock bags with filter paper.

‘They were placed astir his body, contained by 2 girdles.’

Smuggling the tarantulas is highly lucrative and it mostly driven by backstage souvenir collectors.

Expert Alice Hughes, a biology prof astatine Hong Kong University, told the Telegraph that galore collectors effort to stitchery the creatures ‘like Pokemon’.

‘Tarantulas are particularly susceptible to poaching due to the fact that they’re long-lived – immoderate scope 30 years aged – and females reproduce precocious and infrequently,’ Chris Hamilton, a prof of insect studies astatine Idaho University, told the BBC.

‘This is unspeakable for withstanding quality disturbance (habitat destruction, favored commercialized collecting, oregon clime change) due to the fact that of however agelong it takes to regenerate populations.’

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