A 5 1/2-year law enforcement investigation triggered by the seizure of eight tarantulas resulted in three prosecutions of spider dealers who smuggled more than 1,500 protected Latin American tarantulas worth hundreds of thousands of dollars into the United States.

“Operation Arachnid” also led to international protection for all species of Brachypelma spiders, some of the rarest in the world. sentences ever handed down in a wildliferelated case.

The investigation began in December 1992 when Service Wildlife Inspector Sharon Lynn seized a shipment of eight live Mexican red-kneed tarantulas at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. The importer did not have a valid export permit for the tarantulas, which are listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

The importer eventually abandoned the tarantulas to the federal government in a pretrial settlement which also included fines, restitution and the forfeiture of other tarantulas he had illegally imported.

In March 1993 Sheila O’Connor, an officer with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources who is now a Service special agent, spotted a Mexican red-kneed tarantula for sale in a suburban Chicago pet store. She called Special Agent David Kirkby in the Chicago law enforcement office, who she knew was looking into the illegal tarantula trade.

Kirkby confiscated the tarantula, later dubbed “Elvira” by Chicago law enforcement staff, as evidence and began untangling a complex web of clues to trace her origin. After extensive investigation, Kirkby documented the smuggling activities of Thomas D. Schultz, the owner of a now defunct wildlife import business in Columbus, Ohio.

“We were able to trace shipments of more than 1,000 Mexican red-kneed tarantulas back to Schultz,” Kirkby said. The spiders, destined for the pet trade, were driven over the Mexican border and peddled by Schultz to at least three different wildlife dealers.

In May, Schultz pleaded guilty to felony violations of the Lacey Act, the Endangered Species Act and U.S. smuggling laws.

He could face up to five years in jail and a $250,000 fine.

Most recently, Operation Arachnid snared a Chicago pet store owner and wholesale importer for his illegal dealings in the tarantula trade. The charges against Bryant Capiz, who operates a store called “Arachnocentric,” stem from his alleged attempt to smuggle 27 adult tarantulas of various species into the United States via O’Hare.

Wildlife Inspector Lydia Handy found the illegal animals concealed in Capiz’s luggage. In an attempt to distract inspectors, Capiz also handcarried and declared a commercial shipment containing some 1,300 legal spiderlings.

The Service probe of the illegal spider trade reverberated far away as California where a federal jury recently convicted a Long Beach man on five felony counts for smuggling and selling 600 Mexican red-kneed tarantulas. The man, who was the subject of a separate Service investigation, is now serving a nine year prison term, one of the longest sentences ever handed down in a wildlife related case.

A pet store tarantula proved the next big break in Operation Arachnid, leading Kirkby to smuggler Thomas Schultz. This break in the case also launched the “public service” career of Elvira—Chicago’s most famous resident tarantula (see sidebar story).

The scope of these cases demonstrates the serious threat that smuggling for the pet trade poses to red-kneed tarantulas and other spider species, said Kirkby.

“These species, native only to Mexico and Central America, are prized for their colorful markings and docile temperament,” Kirkby said. “They have been imported illegally because breeders have not been able to raise them in captivity and therefore cannot meet the commercial demand for the spiders.”

The fact that captive breeding does occur occasionally added a unique challenge to the case, according to Kirkby.

Kirkby explained. By consulting scientists and poring over written sources, the agent compiled as much biological information about the species as he could. as possible to ponds at Roper Lake State Park and the Arizona State University Fisheries Laboratory, maintaining them for future reintroduction efforts.

“Elvira”: Service “Spokes-spider”

As one of the victims in a highly-publicized law enforcement case, “Elvira” the Mexican red-kneed tarantula has attracted her share of media attention.

Her presence at a June press conference with Service Director Jamie Rappaport Clark and two assistant U.S. attorneys and her other “outreach work” has helped spread the message about the detrimental effects of illegal wildlife trade.

Elvira, who lives in Special Agent David Kirkby’s office at Chicago’s O’Hare airport along with a dozen other tarantulas, is the highlight of talks presented by wildlife inspectors to school and community groups who visit the airport. She and some of the other tarantulas-in-residence, most of which were seized as evidence during Operation Arachnid, have appeared on several local television shows featuring the Chicago wildlife inspection program. Crowl emphasized that his office takes wildlife crimes seriously and works diligently to prosecute the individuals who commit them.

They have also made extended “guest appearances” at Chicago area institutions, including the Chicago Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago Academy of Sciences - Children’s Museum and the Lincoln Park Zoo.

The June 3 press conference announcing the prosecution of a target of Operation Arachnid spotlighted the devastating impact of the illegal wildlife trade on species worldwide. The story aired on six television stations and was prominently featured in the Chicago Tribune.

Once again, Elvira stole the show.

“The seizures our inspectors make are often the opening we need to pursue and catch wildlife smugglers,” Clark told reporters as she held Elvira in her outstretched hands and the camera crews moved in for a closeup. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Crowl emphasized that his office takes wildlife crimes seriously and works diligently to prosecute the individuals who commit them.

Kirkby explained Elvira’s appeal as a “spokes-spider” against illegal wildlife trade.

“Elvira makes wildlife smuggling real to people,” Kirkby said. “Real animals are being removed from real places by criminals whose only motivation is greed. And if we don’t stop that traffic, those animals, and any benefits that humans may receive from them, soon will be lost.”

In May, Schultz pleaded guilty to felony Sandy Cleva, Division of Law Enforcement, Arlington, Virginia

Sandy Cleva, Division of Law Enforcement, Arlington, Virginia