A director of the American Museum of Pure Historical past was arrested in Istanbul on Monday on suspicion of attempting to smuggle spider and scorpion samples, Turkish media reported.
In accordance with a number of media stories, Lorenzo Prendini, a spider knowledgeable from a prestigious New York institute, was arrested by police at Istanbul Airport whereas attempting to gather some 1,500 samples from overseas.
A video posted by the IHA information company confirmed anti-smuggling brokers looking out his carry-on baggage and eradicating zippered plastic luggage that appeared to comprise useless spiders and scorpions.
In addition they reportedly discovered samples of venom liquid in plastic bottles.
The official Anadolu information company reported that Prendini was arrested on suspicion of attempting to smuggle endemic species.
The museum’s web site lists Prendini, who was born in South Africa, as curator of spiders, scorpions, centipedes and centipedes collections and as a professor on the Richard Gilder Graduate Faculty.
In accordance with the museum, his analysis on spiders and scorpions has taken him to greater than 30 nations and he has revealed quite a few scientific articles on the topic.
He additionally labored within the Biology Division of the Metropolis College of New York.
