Loading ...A potential threat like the movie, Snakes on a Plane, could have well been unleashed if it was not for the keen eye of officials at Rio de Janeiro Airport last week. A British man believed to be Lee Arden, 26-years-old and from Wales, tried to do the unthinkable, when he attempted to transport up to 1,000 potential deadly spiders in his luggage.
Mr Arden was flying from Paraguay to Brazil, en-route to the UK when he was stopped by an official who wanted to check his luggage. Upon inspecting the bag they found what they expect to be around 1,000 spiders all individually wrapped in separate boxes. Arden said he had bought them in Paraguay for around $5 each but could sell them in the UK for $50 per creature.
Under Brazilian law, no animal is allowed to be transported out of the country without written official permission–which the Welshman did not have. He has been bailed by the police after revealing to them that he planned on selling the spiders once back in the UK. He is not allowed to leave the country until his court case has been heard and he could face up to one year in jail or a fine of more than $1 million.
It is thought that Mr Arden will not be sent to jail as fines are perceived as more of a punishment in these cases, and if some of the fine that is imposed is paid off, it is expected that he will be free to leave the country.
