South African police arrested a 28-year-old man on Friday after catching him trying to smuggle 150 venomous scorpions through Cape Town airport, officials said Saturday.
Officers said the man had hidden the live arachnids in his clothing inside his luggage.
His arrest came after an intelligence operation in which police circulated his description before stopping him at the airport.
“He was arrested under the Nature and Environmental Ordinance Act, being in possession of a wild animal,” police said in a statement, without naming the suspect. He is due in court on Monday.
Police also released an image of the scorpions, which appear individually wrapped in plastic.
https://twitter.com/SAPoliceService/status/2065721153788776449/photo/1?ftag=YHF4eb9d17
Investigators have not revealed where he intended to take the scorpions.
The scorpions have been handed over to a wildlife facility for safekeeping while officials determine their market value.
Wildlife trafficking continues to pose a major threat in South Africa, one of the world’s most biodiverse countries. Last August, six people, including a well-known rhino breeder, were charged in South Africa in connection with an international rhino horn trafficking network.
Crime syndicates target iconic species like rhinos and elephants, as well as lesser-known creatures such as pangolins and reptiles, feeding a lucrative global black market.
Last year, a scorpion stung a woman at Logan Airport in Boston while she was retrieving luggage in the baggage claim area of customs at the international terminal.
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