Customs officials at Cologne Bonn airport tipped off by ‘noticeable smell’ that did not resemble confectionary

Arachnophobes beware: customs officials have released photos from a seizure of roughly 1,500 young tarantulas found inside plastic containers that were hidden in chocolate sponge cake boxes shipped to an airport in western Germany.

Customs officials said on Monday they had found the shipment at Cologne Bonn airport in a package that had arrived from Vietnam. A Cologne customs office spokesperson, Jens Ahland, said they had been tipped off by a “noticeable smell” that did not resemble the expected aroma of the 7kg (about 15lb) of the confectionery treats.