About 1,500 tarantulas found hidden in cake boxes at German airport | Germany

Arachnophobes Beware: Customs officials published photos of a crisis of around 1,500 young Tarentulas found inside plastic containers hidden in chocolate sponge cake boxes shipped to an airport in western Germany.

Customs officials said on Monday that they had found the sending to Cologne Bonn in a package that had arrived from Vietnam. A spokesperson for Cologne Customs Office, Jens Ahland, said that they had been flooded by a “notable odor” which did not resemble the expected aroma of the 7 kg (about 15 lb) of confectionery treats.

“My colleagues at the airport are regularly surprised by the contents of prohibited packages from around the world, but the fact that they have found around 1,500 small plastic containers containing young tarantulas in this package left the most experienced among them speechless,” said Ahland in a statement.

Ahland praised an “extraordinary crisis”, but which “attacks us to see what some people do to animals only for profit”.

Many eight-legged creatures have not survived the trip, in an alleged violation of German animal welfare rules, while the survivors were given to the care of an expert manager, the office said. Reached by phone, Ahland said that the estimated value of the shipment was being evaluated.

Criminal proceedings are underway against the beneficiary provided in the Sauerland region, east of the airport, in part for alleged violations of non-payment of appropriate import rights and to make appropriate customs declarations, the office said.

Tarentulas were discovered about three weeks ago, but the customs office did not return the images until Monday.