More than 3,000 tarantulas were discovered stuffed inside socks that were packed in the luggage of three different travelers as they prepared to board a flight.
The spiders were found Nov. 3 in three suitcases at an airport in Callao, Peru, according to Reuters.
The luggage belonged to two German citizens and one Polish citizen who were preparing to fly to Germany, according to SERFOR, Peru’s National Forestry and Wildlife Service.
MAN BUSTED AFTER CUSTOMS UNCOVERS BIZARRE CARGO HIDDEN INSIDE 22 PAIRS OF SOCKS
Authorities launched an investigation after receiving an anonymous tip. When officials searched the suitcases, they found between 15 and 22 socks packed inside each one, concealing spiders of different species and in varying numbers, Reuters reported.
The seizure included tarantulas at different stages of development, from eggs and young spiders to adults.
Cora Suarez, a wildlife forestry control technician with SERFOR, said the creatures can be valuable to collectors.
“These species are attractive because of the colors, because of the size and, more than anything, because they can be intended for collectors,” Suarez said in Spanish.
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The three travelers were stopped while checking in for their flight. They were detained by Peru’s environmental crimes police, according to Reuters.
Authorities said the travelers now face criminal proceedings led by a specialized environmental prosecutor’s office.
Keith Jeffries, an Orlando-based vice president of K2 Security Screening Group and former federal security director at Los Angeles International Airport, previously told Fox News Digital that money can drive unusual wildlife smuggling attempts.
“If there’s a market for it, people will attempt to smuggle it,” Jeffries said.
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“We’ve seen this before many times,” he added. “It happens more frequently than any of us would like.”
Jeffries said airport screening responsibilities can vary depending on the agency and what officers are tasked with finding.
In the U.S., for example, Transportation Security Administration officers primarily search for aviation security threats such as weapons and explosives rather than specifically looking for smuggled wildlife, he said.
The tarantula discovery is not the first time authorities have found living creatures hidden inside socks in travelers’ luggage.
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In August, a 23-year-old man was arrested at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport after authorities discovered about 200 lizards packed inside 22 pairs of socks in his suitcase, Fox News Digital previously reported.
Nine of the reptiles were Mexican alligator lizards, an endangered species subject to international trade restrictions. Some could reportedly sell for hundreds of dollars each in Japan.
Jeffries previously recalled other wildlife discoveries during his time with the TSA, including exotic turtles and nearly 100 exotic birds found inside checked luggage.