A curator at the American Museum of Natural History was detained in Istanbul on Monday while allegedly attempting to smuggle spider and scorpion samples, Turkish media reported.
Lorenzo Prendini, an expert on arachnids at the New York-based museum, was held by police at Istanbul Airport while allegedly trying to take about 1,500 samples out of the country, news outlets reported.
The state-run Anadolu news agency reported that Prendini was detained for allegedly attempting to smuggle species found in Turkey. The agency reported that 88 bottles containing liquids and roughly 1,500 scorpions, tarantulas and spiders endemic to Turkey were seized from his luggage. The outlet said that DNA from the species can be used to produce medication.
A liter of scorpion venom can be worth about $10 million, an expert inTurkey told Reuters.
Video published by the Demiroren News Agency showed officers searching hand luggage and removing plastic bags that appeared to be packed with dead spiders and scorpions.
The museum’s website lists Prendini as the curator of its spider, scorpion, centipede and millipede collections. It says his research into spiders and scorpions has taken him to more than 30 countries on every continent except Antarctica
In 2022, an Oregon man was sentenced in federal court for importing and exporting hundreds of live scorpions to and from Germany.