More than 3,000 tarantulas were found hidden in socks inside the luggage of three travelers preparing to board a flight in Peru.
Officials discovered the spiders on Nov. 3 in three suitcases at an airport in Callao. The bags belonged to two German citizens and a Polish citizen who were headed to Germany, Peru’s National Forestry and Wildlife Service, known as Serfor, said.
Authorities searched the luggage after receiving an anonymous tip. Each suitcase contained between 15 and 22 socks, which concealed spiders of several species and in different quantities. The haul included eggs, young spiders and adults.
Cora Suarez, a wildlife forestry control technician with Serfor, said the tarantulas may appeal to collectors because of their colors and size.
The travelers were stopped while checking in and detained by Peru’s environmental crimes police. They now face criminal proceedings overseen by a specialized environmental prosecutor’s office, authorities said.
Wildlife smuggling can be driven by demand, said Keith Jeffries, a security executive based in Orlando and former federal security director at Los Angeles International Airport. He noted that airport screening officers’ responsibilities vary, and that in the United States, TSA officers mainly focus on threats such as weapons and explosives rather than wildlife trafficking.
Authorities have previously found live animals concealed in socks. In August, a 23-year-old man was arrested at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport after about 200 lizards were discovered in 22 pairs of socks in his suitcase.
Nine of the reptiles were Mexican alligator lizards, an endangered species covered by international trade restrictions. Some reportedly sell for hundreds of dollars each in Japan.
Jeffries has also recalled finding exotic turtles and nearly 100 exotic birds in checked luggage during his time with the TSA.
