Sri Lanka is home to a species of lethally poisonous scorpions. Photo / File
There was a sting in the tail of this man's plan to smuggle some unusual cargo out of Sri Lanka's Colombo airport.
A passenger was discovered to have 200 venomous scorpions in his luggage at the airport security screening. Each of the insects were packed into individual plastic containers, with
padding for the flight.
The man who was arrested by customs officials on Monday was issued a 100,000 rupee ($830) fine and released. This is more than can be said for the scorpions which were left in the care of airport security.
Talking to The Hindu newspaper customs officials told the newspaper that they had not yet worked out the value of the animals which were bound for the illegal Chinese medicine market.
"We detained the passenger and launched an investigation," customs spokesperson Sunil Jayaratne said. "We have not placed a value on the 200 scorpions, but trafficking in live wildlife has become a lucrative trade."
