Facing up to 20 years, Bet He’s got Arachnophobia Now

December 6th, 2010. By LucyC

Look what the Mailman Brought! Imagine getting a live tarantula in the mail? Apparently some 500 of them were mailed to the US by one Sven Koppler of Germany. I would think opening any one of those packages would be right up there with encountering someone’s pet snake on a domestic flight…ok, can’t think about that scenario. 

Back to tarantula man. Thirty-seven year old Koppler was illegally dealing in protected species. Who knew? Tarantulas—specifically Mexican red-kneed tarantulas (they have knees?)—are on the endangered species list. FYI —their Latin name is Brachypelma smithi.

“The entire Brachypelma genus is protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) because it is being threatened by international trade,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. “Specimens can only be legally traded if CITES permits first are obtained from the exporting country.” Who wants to trade in tarantulas? I seem to be missing something here…cash maybe? Koppler reportedly made $300,000 selling the spiders.

Thankfully, he caught the attention of special agents with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Postal Inspection Service in March, when they discovered about 300 live tarantulas during a routine search of an international package. All things considered, it’s quite remarkable that the spiders survived the trip.

So, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Postal Inspection Service set up a sting operation called “Operation Spiderman,” which involved Koppler sending them, unknowingly, hundreds of the little creatures. Months later, when Koppler arrived in Los Angeles to meet with an ‘associate’ the officials nabbed him.

If he’s found guilty—oh, I’d love to hear his defense—he could serve as many as 20 years in prison and pay a $250,000 fine.

I’m thinking Koppler needs a new gig—just what the heck is wrong with stamp or coin collecting? 

Groundhog Day for Off-Duty Cop. Maybe this guy was out to beat his own record, which would include stupidity as well as breaking and entering, among other things.

Brian Edward Raymond, a 21-year old man from Providence, RI, broke into the house of a prison guard and the car of an off-duty cop. And not just any off-duty cop—no—the officer just happened to have arrested Raymond in an earlier caper. Well done Raymond! He worked fast though—all that mayhem only took him 30 minutes. But it’s likely going to take him a lot longer to work off. 

Get the Lead Out? Beginning of a new trend? Some ‘thieves’ in the UK, who I’m presuming remain at large at the time of writing, have been putting Google Earth to less than good use.

Apparently, they are targeting British houses of worship that have lead roofs. They steal the metal and sell it. Nice!

Some 8,000 churches have filed insurance claims for lead theft in the past three years. Unbelievable. I’m afraid to ask ‘what next’.

Anchors Away! Away, away. We all know that people can get up to some pretty silly stuff when they’re on holiday —and drinking. This guy—one Rick Ehlert—just happened to be partying on Holland America’s MS Ryndam, when he allegedly tried to drop the ship’s anchor as it steamed from Mexico to Tampa. Where do these people come from? Ah—California. Of course. 

(No offense intended to the many sane Californians I know personally—or work with, BTW.) 

Ehlert, a 44-year-old California resident, was caught on surveillance video. Had he been successful, he could have sunk the ship, Coast Guard investigators say. That’s provided he could read the instructions in the first place. 

Glad I wasn’t on that cruise.

Tags: Tortelicious

This was posted on Monday, December 6th, 2010 at 4:33 pm and is filed under Totally Tortelicious . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.