A Polish man was recently arrested after trying to smuggle nearly 100 tarantulas through a South American airport.
The spiders—38 adults, about 50 adolescents, and dozens of egg-filled cocoons—were packed “in plastic bottles” hidden among his luggage, the AFP reported.
Officials from Cayenne – Félix Eboué Airport caught the man attempting to carry the hairy insects through the capital of French Guiana, an overseas department of France bordering Brazil and Suriname.
Self-described as “passionate about insects,” the unnamed Pole was arrested on Aug. 25 while preparing to board a flight to Paris.
According to French wildlife protection agency ONCFS, the transport of live scorpions and tarantulas is not forbidden wholesale, but “regulated.”
Certain species—including some tarantulas—enjoy special protected status, AFP pointed out.
French Guiana boasts a high level of biodiversity, thanks to its old-growth forests, protected by the Guiana Amazonian Park and six additional nature reserves.
It’s not actually that uncommon to find animals in airport luggage.
Earlier this year, more than 1,500 live turtles and tortoises—worth roughly $100,000—were discovered inside four pieces of abandoned luggage at the Manila airport.
A few weeks later, police arrested a Russian tourist attempting to smuggle a drugged orangutan out of Indonesia in his suitcase—to bring home as a pet.
And just last month, an airline passenger left their pet snake at a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint in Newark Liberty International Airport.
The 15-incher was spotted slithering around on the floor of Terminal C by a child.
More on Geek.com:
- New Tarantula With Bizarre Horn on Its Back Discovered in Angola
- New Clone-Like Spiders Named After ‘Star Wars’ Stormtroopers
- Rare Images of Spiders Devouring Frogs, Lizards, and Small Mammals
