ISTANBUL — A curator on the American Museum of Pure Historical past was detained in Istanbul whereas allegedly making an attempt to smuggle spider and scorpion samples, Turkish media reported. The curator mentioned he had permits from the federal government to conduct his analysis.
Lorenzo Prendini, an professional on arachnids on the New York-based museum, was held by police at Istanbul Airport whereas allegedly making an attempt to take about 1,500 samples in a foreign country, information shops reported.
The state-run Anadolu information company reported Monday that Prendini was detained for allegedly making an attempt to smuggle species present in Turkey. In emailed feedback to The Related Press, Prendini mentioned he had appeared earlier than a decide and was launched with out cost.
Video revealed by the Demiroren Information Company confirmed officers looking hand baggage and eradicating plastic baggage that seemed to be filled with lifeless spiders and scorpions.
Prendini mentioned the police had disregarded permits from the Turkish authorities to conduct his analysis in collaboration with Turkish scientists.
“The police utterly ignored this and relied on the testimony of an ‘professional’ who has a battle of curiosity with my collaborators … and whose scientific analysis is very questionable,” he mentioned.
“The police have utterly violated due course of and it seems they wish to discover me responsible within the court docket of public opinion.”
The museum’s web site lists Prendini because the curator of its spider, scorpion, centipede and millipede collections. It says his analysis into spiders and scorpions has taken him to greater than 30 international locations.
The museum didn’t reply to an electronic mail searching for remark.