A museum curator was reportedly arrested Monday for allegedly trying to smuggle scorpion and spider samples from the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
Police reportedly detained Lorenzo Prendini at Istanbul airport on suspicion of trying to smuggle around 1,500 samples of poisonous species across the border. anadolu agency report.
According to the newspaper, Prendini allegedly obtained illegal samples from Turkiye.
American Museum of Natural History curator charged with trying to smuggle 1,500 spider and scorpion samples from Turkey https://t.co/4x13mOYxHm
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About 58 clip-on bags containing hundreds of scorpions, tarantulas and other spiders native to Turkiye were seized from the suspect’s luggage, Anadolu Agency reported. He also allegedly transported 88 plastic tube bottles containing an unidentified liquid, the report said.
A video of Istanbul police searching Prendini’s alleged luggage was released by the Demiroren news agency. according to Go to CBS News. Dead spiders and scorpions were reportedly seen stuffed into plastic bags. (Related: Spider webs form in woman’s eardrums, causing ‘constant’ clicking and rustling sounds)
Mr. Prendini is Statement by email He told The Associated Press that he had permission to collaborate with Turkish experts.
“The police completely ignored this and relied on the testimony of an ‘expert’ who had a conflict of interest with my collaborators and whose scientific work was highly questionable,” he said. “The police are in complete violation of due process and seem to want to convict me in the court of public opinion.”
Prendini is facing smuggling charges in Turkiye, Anadolu Agency reported. According to documents from the American Museum of Natural History, the accused museum curator specializes in spiders, scorpions, centipedes, and millipedes. Website. “Dr. Prendini’s research combines morphological, molecular, and distributional data with diverse analytical tools to address the systematics, biogeography, and evolution of scorpions,” reads his profile. is written.
Anadolu Agnesy said poisonous spiders and scorpions, such as the ones the suspects allegedly smuggled from Turkiye, could be used to make valuable medicines. A liter of the drug made from scorpion venom reportedly retails for around $10 million.
