1500 tarantulas hidden inside biscuit boxes caught at German airport
Customs officials released photos of the spiders in tiny plastic containers on Monday after making the discovery three weeks ago when the packages arrived at Cologne Bonn Airport.
The officials said there was a 'noticeable smell' coming from the 7kg of confectionery boxes.
'My colleagues at the airport are regularly surprised by the contents of prohibited packages from all over the world, but the fact that they found around 1500 small plastic containers containing young tarantulas in this package left even the most experienced among them speechless,' Cologne customs office spokesperson Jens Ahland said in a statement.
'An extraordinary seizure for German Customs, even though it saddens us to see what some people do to animals purely for profit.'
The packages came from Vietnam and were due to be delivered to an address in Sauerland, northwestern Germany.
While the tarantulas were believed to have been shipped alive, violating animal welfare laws, 'many' died in transit.
The remaining spiders were said to have been put in professional care.
The Cologne customs office said criminal proceedings were underway against the recipient of the packages.
It said animals of any kind must be declared to customs and that import duties need to be paid on parcels sent from a non-EU member state.
Last year, a Korean man was arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle more than 300 tarantulas out of Peru by strapping them to his body.
Authorities had thought the 28-year-old foreigner's stomach 'looked swollen' when passing through security at Jorge Chávez International Airport on November 8, 2024.
They found two belts holding small plastic containers and Ziploc bags with 320 tarantulas, 110 centipedes and nine bullet ants, according to Peru's forestry and wildlife service, SERFOR.
SERFOR said the young man was planning to fly to Korea via France before he was arrested by police.
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