Over 750 live tarantulas concealed in gift-wrapped oatmeal and cookies were recently seized Monday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
A total of 757 live venomous tarantulas were discovered in a shipment found at the Central Mail Exchange Center.
According to the Bureau of Customs, the live tarantulas were shipped from Poland by a certain Wojciech Pakasz. It was consigned to Jesse Camaro of Caloocan City.
Port of NAIA District Collector Carmelita Talusan said the wildlife animals, which were classified as endangered species, were valued at P310, 000.
Violators of Illegal Wildlife Trading may face imprisonment of one year and one day to two years. A P20,000 to P200,000 fine will be imposed against violators under R.A. 9147 or the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act.
Violators may also face three years and one day but not more than six years imprisonment or a fine of not more than P300,000 under unlawful importation pursuant to R.A. 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.
The seized wildlife animals were turned over to the Wildlife Traffic Monitoring Unit – Department of Environment and Natural Resources (WTMU-DENR) Tuesday. (Betheena Kae Unite)