Offbeat: German man charged over endangered tarantula sale
- 247 tarantulas mailed from Germany to Los Angeles source
- » “Operation Spiderman” was a success. Federal authorities, posing as tarantula buyers, successfully ordered five packages worth, including 22 Mexican red-kneed tarantulas, a species protected under international convention. Sven Koppler, the German national who made the sale, faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.