American Museum of Natural History curator accused of trying to smuggle 1,500 spider and scorpion samples out of Turkey

A curator from the American Museum of Natural History was arrested Monday in Istanbul after allegedly trying to smuggle spider And Scorpio samples, Turkish media reported.

Lorenzo Prendini, an arachnid expert at the New York-based museum, was arrested by police at Istanbul airport when he allegedly tried to collect around 1,500 samples outside the country, media reported.

The official Anadolu news agency reported that Prendini was arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle cash found in Turkey. The agency said 88 bottles containing liquids and about 1,500 scorpions, tarantulas and spiders endemic to Turkey were seized from his luggage. The outlet said the species’ DNA can be used to produce medicines.

A liter of scorpion venom can be worth around $10 million, a Turkish expert told Reuters.

A video published by the Demiroren news agency showed officers searching carry-on luggage and removing plastic bags that appeared to contain dead spiders and scorpions.

The museum’s website lists Prendini as curator of its collections of spiders, scorpions, centipedes and centipedes. His research on spiders and scorpions has taken him to more than 30 countries on every continent except Antarctica.

In 2022, an Oregon man was convicted in federal court of importing and exporting hundreds of live scorpions to and from Germany.