More than 300 smuggled tarantulas, scorpions, and giant cockroaches were seized at El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá, Colombia.
Two German citizens leaving the country decided they wanted to bring back some live insects, but airport authorities quickly noticed the insects inside their luggage.
They confiscated more than 300 insects in 210 plastic containers that the travelers had stored between rolls of film.
According to the statement, the tubs held 232 trapdoor spiders and tarantulas, 67 giant cockroaches, a scorpion with seven young, and nine spider eggs.
The two travelers said that they were transporting the arthropods to Germany for research. Still, they didn’t have the proper authorization to remove the insects from the country, ministry officials said.
Investigators determined that the smuggled arthropods had been collected in the northeast of Bogotá in Boyacá, in San Luis de Gaceno.
The illicit cargo included individuals in the scorpion family Buthidae, the giant cockroach family Blaberidae, and the spider families Barychelidae (trapdoor spiders) and Theraphosidae (Tarantulas).
According to the statement, they could face fines and civil and criminal prosecution for their actions.
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Investigators determined that the smuggled arthropods had been collected in the northeast of Bogot in Boyac , in the municipality of San Luis de Gaceno. The illicit cargo included individuals in the scorpion family Buthidae; the giant cockroach family Blaberidae; and the spider families Barychelidae (trapdoor spiders) and Theraphosidae (tarantulas). In September, Colombian authorities foiled another illegal export operation, confiscating 3,493 shark fins and 256 pounds (117 kilograms) of fish swim bladders that were headed from Bogot ‘s airport to Hong Kong. The airport “continues to be a focus of attention for wildlife trafficking in Bogot ,” Secretary Urrutia V squez said in the statement. In 2021 alone, officials recovered more than 11,000 trafficked specimens at the El Dorado International Airport; of those, 7,058 were living, ministry officials reported.