In brief
Peruvian authorities detained a 28-year-old man at an airport while he tried to board a flight to South Korea, where over 400 endangered creatures were found hidden on his body. The incident highlights ongoing issues with illegal wildlife trafficking.
Last week, customs officials in Lima, Peru, apprehended a 28-year-old South Korean man attempting to board a flight to South Korea with an unusual bulge in his stomach: he was concealing 320 tarantulas, 110 centipedes, and nine bullet ants. Stowed away in small plastic bags, each obscured by filter paper, the insects were secured with strong adhesive tape to two girdles wrapped around his torso.Among the seized species were 35 adult tarantulas each roughly the size of a human hand, alongside 285 juvenile tarantulas. All specimens were native to the Amazon region, which has seen escalating threats to its biodiversity. According to Walter Silva, a wildlife specialist from Peru's National Forest and Wildlife Service, these tarantulas are on the endangered species list. “All were extracted illegally and are part of the illegal wildlife trafficking that moves millions of dollars globally,” he indicated in a news release.The man had been planning to fly back to South Korea with a stopover in France before his arrest at the airport last Friday. While the authorities have launched an investigation into the matter, they have yet to disclose any formal charges or the man’s identity. This incident underscores the persistent challenges faced by wildlife protection efforts and the ongoing fight against illegal wildlife trafficking in various nations.
