1,500 spiders in sponge cake boxes seized by German customs

by WorldTribune Staff / 247 Real News July 14, 2025

Customs officials in Germany on Monday released photos from a seizure in which 1,500 young tarantulas were found in sponge cake boxes in an attempt to smuggle them into the country.

Tarantulas apparently do not smell like sponge cake.

Customs officials found the shipment at Cologne Bonn airport in a package that had arrived from Vietnam.

Agents were tipped off by a “noticeable smell” that didn’t resemble the expected aroma of the 7 kilograms (about 15 pounds) of the confectionery treats, Cologne customs office spokesman Jens Ahland said.

“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,” Ahland said in a statement.

Many of the spiders did not survive the trip from Vietnam. Those that did were given to the care of an expert handler, the customs office said.

“Criminal proceedings are underway against the intended recipient in the Sauerland region, east of the airport, in part for alleged violations of failure to pay the proper import duties and make the proper customs declarations,” the customs office said.

The trafficking of illegal wildlife has become one of the top illicit trades worldwide, generating as much as $23 billion a year in a massive and unregulated global trade.

The creatures are smuggled for clandestine scientific research, collectors, and pet enthusiasts and for resale in black markets.

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