As we wind down from Halloween, our mouths drop in horror at the thought of a recent discovery made at Jorge Chávez International Airport in Lima, Peru: Over 3,000 tarantulas that had been hidden within dirty socks were seized, as the National Forestry and Wildlife Service (SERFOR) told Agence France-Presse.
On November 4, dutiful agents spotted some curious wriggling within luggage, thus prompting the chilling find. Two Germans and one Pole, who were detained, each harbored a share of these creepy crawlers in their suitcases. Each of these suitcases contained between 15 and 22 socks with different numbers and kinds of tarantulas. The genera included the Brachypelma, Avicularia, and Pamphobeteus. The Pamphobeteus antinous species is currently categorized as Vulnerable. The impressive and carefully selected specimens were gathered from various parts of Peru. They ranged from eggs to adults, and some were even brightly colored.
The arachnid victims of the failed trafficking scheme were destined for Germany, where they would have fetched a hefty sum. Their collective worth was estimated at over €1.5 million ($1.7 million). SERFOR’s Cora Suarez explained that a single one of these arthropods can sell for around €500 ($560) in Europe. Whereas the tarantulas would have probably become pets, been used for research purposes, and the like, the collectible creatures will instead be taken to a breeding center. Fortunately, Peru protects tarantulas, even if many civilians hold a stigma against them, and the three hooligans can look forward to the cold hand of justice.
Travelers Allegedly Tried to Smuggle 3,000 Tarantulas Inside Dirty Socks. It Didn’t Go Well.
Naturally, I reached out to an expert — leading music photographer and former pilot NecrosHorns. He told me a wild story that I certainly was not expecting, “Once, flying from the Bocas del Toro Island Archipelago in Panama, I noticed a crab had grabbed onto luggage and was traveling in the cargo area.” I expressed my shock, and NecrosHorns clarified that “the adventurous crab” had attached himself to the luggage of his own free will. No one had noticed the peculiar presence until NecrosHorns’ observant eye spotted the free-riding, hanger-oner of a crustacean. NecrosHorns stated, “I notified cargo people, and they took it out and threw it back into the water.”
NecrosHorns also mentioned that, as a photographer, airport security stopped him in Leipzig because he was wearing a vest with a slaughtered lamb painted on it — artwork for the band Mare. While exploring the underworld of black metal, I’ve heard of the struggles that extreme bands face, as they sometimes try to transport spikes, animal parts, blood, bones, and other oddities. If they are wise, however, they will arrange to have their stage necessities supplied by sources local to the sites of their planned gigs, as label owner Yosuke Konishi once explained to me.
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