More than 1,000 tarantulas were discovered in cake boxes at an airport in Germany.
According to The Guardian, ABC News and Fox News, roughly 1,500 young spiders were put inside plastic containers that were then hidden in chocolate sponge cake boxes.
Customs staff revealed on Monday, July 14, that they found a shipment from Vietnam at Cologne Bonn airport three weeks ago
This came after they had received a report of a smell that didn’t reflect the scent of confectionery treats.
PEOPLE has contacted Cologne Bonn Airport and the German Police for comment.
“My colleagues at the airport are regularly surprised by the contents of prohibited packages from all over the world, but the fact that they found around 1,500 small plastic containers containing young tarantulas in this package left even the most experienced among them speechless,” Cologne customs office spokesperson, Jens Ahland, said in a statement.
Ahland said it was an “extraordinary seizure,” adding that it “saddens us to see what some people do to animals purely for profit.”
According to the outlets, many of the tarantulas died during the trip. The animals that did survive were handed over to the appropriate handlers.
As a result of the suspected violation of German animal-welfare rules, criminal action is being taken against the defendant.
The individual — who is reportedly in the Sauerland region, east of the airport — is accused of failing to pay the required import fees and failing to make the right customs declarations.
By GABRIELLE ROCKSON/People
