The 28-year-old man who was travelling to South Korea was stopped at Jorge Chávez International Airport in Lima after officials noticed that his stomach area looked “bulky”, according to Peru’s national forestry and wildlife service, SERFOR.

Police detained the man after discovering hundreds of insects packaged inside ziplock bags strapped to his abdomen.

An investigation has been opened by Peru’s environmental crimes prosecutor.

The tarantulas are a protected species in Peru. They are thought to have been taken from the Madre de Dios region in the Peruvian Amazon.

“They were all illegally extracted and are part of illegal wildlife trafficking worth millions of dollars globally,” SERFOR wildlife specialist Walter Silva said in a statement.