Sven Koppler charged for smuggling tarantulas into the US
December 5th, 2010 - 11:05 pm ICT by Aishwarya BhattLos Angeles, Dec 5 (THAINDIAN NEWS) German Sven Koppler has been charged with smuggling tarantulas into the US through the United States Postal Service. His modus operandi was very simple, as he used to pack the tarantulas into colored straws/plastic containers and then used to place them in boxes, which he then posted.
However the 37 years old Sven Koppler’s luck ran out when he arrived in US to meet his counterpart in the smuggling trade. He was welcomed by the United States Fish and Wildfire Service agents at the airport. He was immediately taken into custody when his plane landed at the airport.
“This will definitely have a significant impact on the tarantula trade, given the volume of tarantulas this guy was selling,” according to Mark Williams, who is an assistant United States attorney.
Later he was charged with 1 count of illegally importing wildlife into US. This count could land him into prison for a maximum of 2 decades and could also carry a fine of up to $250,000. Currently Koppler is in federal custody. The tarantulas that were sent through the US Postal Service have also been caught and they are going to be sent to the local zoos.
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