A German national who shipped hundreds of live tarantulas into the US through the mail has pleaded guilty to a federal smuggling charge, prosecutors said.
In pleading guilty the 37-year-old Sven Koppler admitted mailing some 247 live tarantulas to federal agents in Los Angeles, who were posing as buyers as part of an investigation dubbed
Operation Spiderman.
Koppler further admitted sending the agents 22 Mexican red-kneed tarantulas, a species of spider formally known as Brachypelma smithi that is protected under an international treaty.
Koppler, who lives in Wachtberg, Germany, faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison when he is sentenced.
Authorities say the investigation into Koppler began in March, when a routine inspection turned up about 300 live tarantulas in a package he mailed to Los Angeles.
Koppler received about www.00,000 as a result of tarantula sales to spider fanciers in dozens of countries.
Source: www.reuters.com
