PESHAWAR: Customs officials deputed at Bacha Khan International Airport foiled a bid to smuggle two tarantulas in Pakistan and arrested a passenger, who allegedly admitted that he brought the tarantula for a “Hakim” after the latter paid him Rs50,000 and covered his travelling expenses.
Sources told Customs Today that the authorities arrested the passenger who was identified as Usman Khan, a resident of Peshawar, on a tip-off that an attempt to smuggle spiders in Pakistan would be made.
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Following the arrest, Khan told the customs officials that he brought the spiders from China for a Hakim in Peshawar, who paid him Rs50,000 and covered his travelling expenses for bringing the spiders in Pakistan.
The customs officials detected the spiders as the smuggler had preserved them in two card boxes and kept them inside his jacket. After the recovery, Khan failed to produce any certificate from the wildlife department authorizing him to bring tarantulas in Pakistan.
The suspect along with the tarantulas, whose price is said to be in hundreds of thousands of dollars in international market, were handed over to the wildlife department for further legal proceeding.
Khan arrived by Emirates Airlines (flight no: EK-614) from China via Dubai. The customs authorities said that Khan is a frequent traveler to China without revealing and he could have smuggled tarantulas into Pakistani earlier as well.
