Museum curator attempted to smuggle 1,500 dead spiders and scorpions from Turkey

A museum curator who works for the American Museum of Natural History is accused of trying to smuggle 1,500 dead scorpions and spiders from Turkey.

Lorenzo Prendinithe curator of the museum’s spider, scorpion, millipede and centipede collections, was arrested by police at Istanbul Airport after they discovered dead scorpions and spiders in plastic bags and tubes among his belongings.

According to the state Anadolu According to the news agency, scorpion venom is valuable and can be used for medicinal purposes. A liter of medicine made from scorpion venom can be worth up to $10 million.

Prendini denied doing anything wrong. He claimed he had the appropriate permissions from the Turkish government to bring the arachnids back to the United States, but was taken into custody anyway.

“The police completely ignored this and relied on the testimony of an ‘expert’ who has a conflict of interest with my employees … and whose scientific research is highly questionable,” Prendini said Associated Press in an email statement. “The police have completely violated due process and it looks like they want to find me guilty in the court of public opinion.”