Lorenzo Prendini, a curator from the American Museum of Natural History in New York, was detained at Istanbul Airport in Turkey on charges of smuggling spider and scorpion samples. The incident occurred on Monday. Prendini, who specializes in arachnids, was allegedly found trying to transport approximately 1,500 samples out of Turkey. However, he reported having the necessary government permits for his research, which he claimed were overlooked by the police, accusing them of breaching due process.
Prendini mentioned that the police based their actions on the testimony of an expert who, he alleges, holds a conflict of interest with his collaborators and whose scientific credibility he questioned. Despite the accusations, Prendini was released without charge after appearing before a judge.
The curator's research involves studying spiders and scorpions and has taken him to over 30 countries. He is the curator of the spider, scorpion, centipede, and millipede collections at the museum.