‘Spider smuggler’ straps hundreds of tarantulas to his body in Peru

The man was arrested and the creatures have all been handed over to animal protection services. Photo / 123rf

A suspected spider smuggler has been caught in Peru with hundreds of tarantulas strapped to his body while he was leaving the capital city.

The South Korean suspect concealed more than 300 tarantulas, about 100 centipedes, and nine stinging bullet ants in small plastic bags but was spotted by suspicious security guards at the airport, according to ABC News.

The unnamed 28-year-old man had been trying to smuggle his creepy-crawly cargo from Lima to South Korea, but was thwarted when the guards noticed his suspiciously “swollen” stomach area.

He was arrested and the creatures have been handed over to animal protection services, said Pilar Ayala, a biologist from Peru’s national forestry and wildlife service.

“It was observed that the citizen had placed these specimens in small zip-lock bags with filter paper,” Ayala said. “They were placed around his body, contained by two girdles.”

Spider-smuggling is a highly lucrative business and is largely being driven by private souvenir collectors.

Expert Alice Hughes, a biology professor at Hong Kong University, has warned that the collectors are obsessed with the hobby and try to gather as many specimens as possible “like Pokemon”.

“Tarantulas are especially vulnerable to poaching because they’re long-lived – some reach 30 years old – and females reproduce late and infrequently,” Chris Hamilton, a professor of insect studies at Idaho University, told the BBC this week.

“This is terrible for withstanding human disturbance [habitat destruction, pet trade collecting, or climate change] because of how long it takes to regenerate populations,” he added.

A United States museum curator was accused in May of trying to smuggle 1500 dead scorpions and a number of spiders through Istanbul Airport.

However, the curator denied any wrongdoing and said Turkish police had disregarded the government permits he was carrying at the time. He was later released without charge.