A curator at the American Museum of Natural History in New York was detained in Istanbul after allegedly trying to smuggle spider and scorpion samples. The curator claimed he had permits to collect specimens for research purposes.
Arachnid expert Lorenzo Prendini was detained by police at Istanbul Airport for trying to take around 1,500 samples out of the country. The species he collected were originally from Turkey.
During the search, officers found plastic bags containing dead spiders and scorpions in Prendini’s luggage, as shown in video footage released by the Demiroren News Agency.
Prendini reported that the Turkish police ignored permits granted by the government to conduct research with local scientists.
According to the Associated Press, Prendini claimed that the police ignored crucial evidence and relied solely on the testimony of an expert who had a conflict of interest with Prendini’s colleagues. Prendini also criticized the expert’s scientific research as highly questionable. Prendini further alleges that the police have violated due process and are trying to find him guilty in the court of public opinion.
-Prendini is the curator of AMNH’s spider, scorpion, centipede, and millipede collections.
