1,500 tarantulas hidden in biscuit packaging found by German customs

German customs authorities have found some 1,500 tarantulas concealed within biscuit packaging at Cologne/Bonn Airport during a seizure that took place about three weeks ago.

Cologne customs spokesman Jens Ahland said on Monday the package, which came from Vietnam, had a "distinctive smell" that did not match the declared 7 kilograms of biscuits.

Crammed into small plastic containers and hidden in biscuit packaging, the tarantulas were apparently intended for a recipient in the western German Sauerland region.

"My colleagues at the airport are regularly surprised by prohibited package contents from all over the world, but finding around 1,500 small plastic containers with young tarantulas in this package left even the most experienced among them speechless," Ahlands said in a statement.

Ahland said it was an "extraordinary seizure," but it had saddened authorities to see what some people do to animals for profit.

A number of the animals had died, while the remaining living spiders were handed over to specialists.

A criminal investigation had been launched, as animals of any kind must be declared to customs and import duties paid for parcels sent from a non-EU member state.