A bug smuggler was busted trying to leave Peru with 320 tarantulas strapped to his body — including dozens as big as a human hand, according to authorities.
The 28-year-old Korean traveler was stopped at a security checkpoint at Jorge Chávez International Airport in Lima on November 8 after his stomach area was noticeably bulging, according to Peru’s national forestry and wildlife service, SERFOR.
When officials lifted up his shirt, they found hundreds of the creepy crawlers — also including 110 centipedes and nine bullet ants — inside ziplock bags and plastic containers tied to his abdomen with two belts.
A Peruvian official holds a tarantula that was seized from a South Korean national earlier this month. via REUTERSThe terrifying collection included 35 adult Bolivian blue leg bird eater tarantulas, which officials said were as big as a human hand, as well as another 285 juvenile tarantulas.
The endangered animals are thought to have been stolen from their native Madre de Dios region in the Peruvian Amazon.
“All were extracted illegally and are part of the illegal wildlife trafficking that moves millions of dollars in the world,” Walter Silva, a wildlife specialist at SERFOR, said in a statement.
SERFOR said that during the holiday season, they see an uptick in the smuggling of rare animals which are sold for a hefty price as gifts to collectors or as exotic pets.
The man had 320 tarantulas on his person when he was stopped, officials said. via REUTERS
While some tarantulas were the size of a human hand, most were juveniles. via REUTERSThe unidentified Korean national was traveling back to South Korea via France, officials said.
He was arrested and is being investigated by Peru’s Environmental Prosecutor’s Office.
