See it: 1,500 tarantulas hidden in snack cake boxes smuggled into Germany
The incident occurred in Köln Bonn Airport in the city of Cologne, where officials noticed a large package allegedly filled with 15 pounds of snack cakes – but it did not smell quite so sweet.
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COLOGNE, Germany – Customs officials in Cologne, Germany, made a startling discovery this summer when they inspected odd-smelling packages of snack cakes from Vietnam.
Upon opening the package allegedly filled with 15 pounds of snack cakes, they discovered colorful packages of Vietnamese brands of cookies and chocolate cakes that contained, instead of sweet treats, an estimated 1,500 young tarantulas.
Cookie and snack cake boxes filled with tarantulas.
(Main Customs Office Cologne / FOX Weather)
"The noticeable smell upon opening the large package was inconsistent with the alleged contents of 7 kilograms of biscuits," Jens Ahland, press spokesperson for the Cologne Main Customs Office, said in a news release, translated into English. "My colleagues at the airport are regularly surprised by the contents of prohibited packages from all over the world, but the discovery of around 1,500 small plastic containers containing young tarantulas in this package left even the most experienced among them speechless."
The tarantulas were so young and small that they were each packaged in small plastic vials.
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Cologne customs officials said many of the tarantulas did not survive the flight to Cologne. If they were on a nonstop flight from Vietnam, the tarantulas would have been on the plane for about 12 hours.
Containers of tarantulas.
(Main Customs Office Cologne / FOX Weather)
"An extraordinary seizure for German Customs, even though it saddens us to see what some people do to animals purely for profit," Ahland said.
The tarantulas that did survive were placed in professional care.
Containers of tarantulas.
(Main Customs Office Cologne / FOX Weather)
Criminal proceedings are underway for the intended recipient of the tarantulas, officials said. They noted that the charges involve not declaring the animals to customs and for not paying duties on packages from a country that is not part of the European Union.