More Than 3,000 Tarantulas Found in Smugglers’ Socks at Peru Airport

Peruvian officials said they had discovered thousands of tarantulas hidden inside socks packed in suitcases at an airport in Lima in an attempt to smuggle them into Germany.

The stash included eggs, hatchlings and adults. Some of the species of tarantulas identified are popular as exotic pets, the National Forest and Wildlife Service of Peru said in a news release on Wednesday.

The spiders, some of which were brightly colored, came from across Peru’s diverse geographies, including the Andes Mountains and the Amazon rainforest. At least one protected species was found.

The spiders were discovered after officials stopped two German citizens and one Polish citizen at Jorge Chávez International Airport while they were checking in at the boarding area, officials said.

The discovery of the spiders was the product of a “painstaking intelligence operation,” said the Forest and Wildlife Service, which did not specify when the seizure was made. The service said on social media that it had received an anonymous tip that had led to the seizure.

Cora Suárez, a technician at the agency, said in the news release that the spiders had been found in three suitcases.

“The traffickers made a meticulous selection to include different species, some of which have not yet been described by science,” she said.

Officials said the spiders had been destined for collectors, researchers and pet owners.

The Peruvian National Police’s environmental crimes unit detained the three accused smugglers, but authorities did not specify what charges they faced and did not release their names.

The Forest and Wildlife Service said that, according to scientific literature, one of those detained was a renowned tarantula researcher.

Illegally trafficking tarantulas is harmful to the balance of ecosystems, Peruvian wildlife officials said.

Tarantulas help control pests by feeding on insects, and they are indicators of a healthy habitat. They are found in much of Peru, including the Amazon rainforest, dry forests and in the Andes.

There are more than 1,000 species of tarantulas, which are hairy and mostly harmless to humans, though some can cause painful bites or unleash clouds of stinging hairs. The largest type of tarantula, a Goliath bird-eating spider, can have a body up to 4.75 inches long and a leg span of up to 11 inches.

The spiders found at the airport were from several parts of the country, including the cities of Cajamarca, Cusco and Junín and the regions of La Libertad and Loreto.

A video released by the service showed workers using small wooden sticks and gloved hands to brush the spiders off the dingy white socks and into clear containers.

As of Wednesday, the spiders were still being identified. They include some belonging to the genus Pamphobeteus and the species Thrixopelma lagunas, also known as Peruvian Blue Zebra.

There were also species that had yet to be described by scientists, from the genus Antikuna and the genus Avicularia, officials said.

Avicularia spiders are one of the most common animals chosen as exotic pets, according to a 2012 article published in Frontiers in Microbiology.

Among the spiders found at the airport was Pamphobeteus antinous — also known as a Bolivian blue leg birdeater, Steely blue leg or Big black tarantula — a legally protected threatened wildlife species in Peru.

The Forest and Wildlife Service said the spiders would be housed in a breeding center after being assessed.