U.S. museum curator detained in Türkiye on suspicion of smuggling endemic species

ISTANBUL, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Turkish police detained a U.S. museum curator and seized 1,500 endemic scorpions, spiders, and tarantulas from his suitcase in Türkiye's largest Istanbul Airport, local media revealed on Monday.

According to the Ihlas news agency, Istanbul's anti-smuggling police teams initiated the operation on Sunday in collaboration with airport security.

The police seized the animals within 58 clip-on bags, alongside 88 bottles of liquid in the suitcase of Lorenzo Prendini, curator of the American National Museum of Natural History.

The liquid was reportedly a drug derived from scorpion venom, valued at 10 million U.S. dollars per liter, said the report, noting that shipping such animals abroad is prohibited in Türkiye.

Prendini was detained by the police for allegedly attempting to smuggle the endemic species into the United States, according to the report.