Korea Customs Service Arrests Gang Smuggling Invasive Species Such as Scorpions and Centipedes

A scorpion that was being smuggled into the country mixed with toys was seized during a crackdown by customs authorities. Photo by Korea Customs Service

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] A group attempting to smuggle arthropods such as scorpions, centipedes, and spiders into Korea was caught by customs enforcement.

According to the Korea Customs Service on the 22nd, the Incheon Main Customs Office recently conducted a special crackdown on illegal importation of exotic species and arrested six smugglers.

They are suspected of attempting to smuggle 3,086 arthropods including scorpions via international mail or maritime express cargo from China, Africa, Indonesia, and other regions.

In particular, the arrested smugglers concealed the arthropods inside assembled toys and dispersed the recipients under other people's names such as cafe members to evade customs detection, according to investigations.

However, the Incheon Customs Office caught part of the arthropods during the import inspection process, which led to uncovering the smuggling operation.

Currently, Incheon Customs is tracking overseas credit card usage and account transaction details under the names of the smugglers and their families to identify overseas purchase records, and has conducted raids securing evidence related to smuggling, including 1,524 specimens.

The smugglers, who are operators and members of arthropod internet cafes, are also confirmed to have bred large quantities of illegally imported specimens at their homes and separate breeding facilities, selling them on the market for profit.

The problem is that among the smuggled specimens are toxic species, posing safety risks during breeding and especially concerns about ecological disruption if released into the wild.

Therefore, Incheon Customs emphasizes that when importing arthropods such as scorpions from overseas, one must go through proper import customs procedures to verify safety before bringing them into the country.

An official from Incheon Customs said, “As people's hobbies diversify, the demand to raise exotic and unusual creatures as pets is gradually increasing,” adding, “Along with this, the possibility of illegally importing species that cannot be brought into the country is also rising.”

He continued, “Arthropods such as scorpions, centipedes, and spiders are toxic, and if sold indiscriminately to the general public, they pose significant risks of ecological disruption and safety accidents domestically,” and said, “Customs plans to strengthen monitoring of internet cafes and social networking services, as well as X-ray inspections of international mail and express cargo to crack down on illegal importation of exotic species.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.