(WWJ) An Oregon man has been busted for importing hundreds of live scorpions.
Darren Drake had agreed to receive around 200 scorpions shipped from Michigan where they had been used for scientific research at a university, according to court records.
When the research was complete and the scorpions were going to be euthanized, Drake learned of the scorpions from a research assistant on an arachnid internet forum and agreed to take them.
In a sentencing memo, Drake was identified as a "scorpion enthusiast" since childhood who had an interest in importing, exporting, and shipping scorpions... without the appropriate licenses and without declaring the content of the packages.
Court records state that Drake in total mailed or received several hundred live scorpions from Michigan and Texas. Drake also imported and exported scorpions to Germany without an import-export license from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the documents state, with one intercepted parcel was falsely labeled as "chocolates."
After pleading guilty to violating the Lacey Act, 39-yeat-old was sentence in federal court to two years federal probation, 250 hours of community service.
He was also ordered to pay a $5,000 fine.
In the memo, the defense stated that the scorpions themselves were not endangered or otherwise protected species.
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