Hundreds of tarantulas on the body: bulging belly catches smugglers!

Lima - This Korean smuggler's luggage was crawling.

SERFOR
A Korean smuggler wanted to board a plane in Peru with 320 tarantulas in his luggage.

At the beginning of November, a Korean citizen was arrested at Jorge Chávez Airport in the Peruvian capital Lima for attempting to smuggle 320 tarantulas, 110 millipedes and nine bullet ants out of the South American country.

According to the Peruvian wildlife authority"SERFOR", the man had packed the animals in plastic bags and was carrying some of them directly on his body.

Because of his "bulging" belly, he was asked by security staff to pull up his T-shirt. Two belts were revealed in which he had hidden his living cargo.

A total of 35 tarantulas were already fully grown and the size of a hand. The remaining 285 eight-legged creatures were still babies. According to the pictures, they were stuffed into small tubes that had been sealed with just a piece of toilet paper.

35 tarantulas were already fully grown.
35 tarantulas were already fully grown.
Hundreds of baby tarantulas were crammed into small tubes.
Hundreds of baby tarantulas were crammed into small tubes.

A SERFOR expert explained that the crawlers, which originate from the Peruvian Amazon region, are among the country's endangered species. The illegal trade in such spiders and insects has now become a million-dollar business.