NEW YORK – Curator at the Museum of Natural History in United States He was arrested on Monday in Istanbul while trying to smuggle spider and scorpion venom, according to Turkish media. The detainee ensures that he has permission from the government to conduct his research.
Lorenzo Prendini, an arachnid expert at the museum based in NY, He was arrested by police at Istanbul Airport while allegedly trying to smuggle around 1,500 samples out of the country, according to news media.
The state-run Anadolu news agency reported that Prendini was arrested for allegedly trying to remove species found in Turkey from the a country In comments emailed to The Associated Press, Prendini said he appeared before a judge and was released without charge.
A video posted by the Demiroren news agency showed officers inspecting carry-on luggage and removing plastic bags that appeared to be full of dead scorpions and spiders.
Prendini said that the police had taken into account permission from the Turkish government to carry out their research in collaboration with Turkish scientists.
View of several species of scorpions, tarantulas and spiders, endemic to Turkiye, in plastic bottles and clip-on bags, found in a smuggling operation organized at Istanbul Airport in Istanbul, Turkiye, on May 13, 2024. (Bunyamin Çelik/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“The police completely ignored this and relied on the evidence of an ‘expert’ who has a conflict of interest with my colleagues … and whose scientific research is highly questionable,” said e.
“The police have completely defied due process and seem to want to find me guilty in the court of public opinion,” he said.
The museum’s website lists Prendini as the curator of the spider, scorpion, centipede and millipede collections. He noted that his research on spiders and scorpions has taken him to more than 30 countries.
2024-05-13 22:20:22
#York #museum #curator #arrested #Turkey #smuggling #spiders #permissions
