Police in Peru have arrested a man trying to leave the country with 320 spiders, 110 centipedes and nine ants strapped to his body.

The 28-year-old South Korean national was detained at Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima on Nov. 8 after officials noticed his stomach area looked "heavy," according to the national forest and wildlife service SERFOR.

According to the statement, a search revealed hundreds of insects packed inside zip-lock bags tied to the abdomen of the arrested man, who was traveling to South Korea via France, and Peru's environmental crimes prosecutor has opened an investigation.

The insects are thought to have been taken from the Madre de Dios region in the Peruvian Amazon. Now they are under the care of the authorities.

Tarantulas – a type of spider, are an endangered species, Walter Silva, a wildlife specialist at SERFOR, explained in the statement.

"They were all taken illegally and are part of the multi-million dollar illegal wildlife trade globally," Silva said.

Peru and Colombia are South American countries that face problems with wildlife trafficking. In December 2021, authorities in Colombia seized 232 tarantulas, 67 cockroaches, nine spider eggs and a scorpion with seven of its young, hidden in a suitcase at El Dorado airport in Bogota.

In September 2021, Colombian officials confiscated a shipment of nearly 3500 shark fins destined for Hong Kong.