South African authorities arrested a 28-year-old man whom they caught trafficking 150 venomous scorpions through Cape Town airport, police said on Saturday.
The man had concealed the live arachnids between his clothing inside his luggage, police said.
His arrest on Friday followed an intelligence operation in which officers circulated his description before intercepting 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 man. He is expected to appear in court on Monday.
Police released an image of the scorpions, which appear to be individually wrapped in plastic.
Investigators did not disclose his intended destination.
The scorpions have been handed over to a wildlife facility for safekeeping, while officials assess their market value.
Wildlife trafficking remains a major threat in South Africa, one of the world’s most biodiverse countries. Last August, six people, including a well-known rhinocerous breeder, were charged in South Africa in connection to an international rhino horn trafficking network.
Crime syndicates target iconic species such as rhinos and elephants, but also lesser-known creatures including pangolins and reptiles, feeding a lucrative global black market.
Last year, a scorpion stung a woman at Logan Airport in Boston while she was getting luggage in the baggage claim area of customs at the international terminal.
