READ: Creatures from the North.

[m0lsx]

I have just spotted this on FB. I have no idea if it is true or not. But given past statements by him. It is certainly worth finding more about.

 

[m0lsx]

https://www.wirralglobe.co.uk/news/26060888.man-charged-tarantulas-seized-birkenhead-ferry-terminal/

A MAN has appeared at Wirral Magistrates Court charged with attempting to smuggle thousands of spiders through the 12 Quays ferry terminal in Birkenhead.

The charges relate to an incident on the evening of Saturday, July 26 last year when a car was stopped at 12 Quays ferry terminal by Border Force officers.
Merseyside Police say officers found approximately 2,000 spiders, however, it is alleged no certificate was in place allowing for the spiders to be brought in from Northern Ireland or to be sold in England.

Radoslaw Szymanski, 35, of Clagan Park, Coleraine, Northern Ireland, has now been charged with nine offences: three of being knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of any prohibition or restriction under the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 and six of keeping for sale and transporting a specimen of a species listed in Annex B to Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97.

Three different types of spider are listed as part of the charges, including spiders of the Tliltocatl genus, which are large burrowing tarantulas from North America, spiders of the Brachypelma genus, which are tarantulas originating from Mexico and Poecilotheria, a genus of tarantulas native to India and Sri Lanka.

All three are protected under the International Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species.

According to the UK Government there has been a surge in spider-trafficking since 2023.

Adult tarantulas can sell for between £50 to £500 depending on the species

Szymanski appeared at Wirral Magistrates Court on Monday, April 27 where he offered no pleas to the charges.

He was released on unconditional bail and will return to Merseyside for a plea and trial preparation hearing at Liverpool Crown Court on May 25 2026.

 

[Eighth Eye Blind]

This kind of stuff pisses me off so badly.

The penalty for a CITES violation in the UK is 7 years prison and/or an unlimited fine. Given the number of charges and animals involved I'm certainty hoping for both (but expect the typical wrist-slapping this kind of case normally brings).

 

[x_raphael_xx]

Damn.
My first 2 T's came from CFTN.

 

[m0lsx]

Damn.
My first 2 T's came from CFTN.

I, too, have brought from them. I know in the past he has expressed a willingness to deal illegally caught T's. But that was I thought in the past. This is going to do the hobby real harm.

 

[Enn49]

I'd always presumed he was bringing a lot of his stock in from Europe in which case they would be captive bred. Ok, that is still illegal but not quite as bad as importing WC.

 

[plessey]

Unless there is more going on than mentioned in the article, it seems all he has done is try to take stock from England back over to Northern Ireland and got done for not having paperwork in place as technically this is exporting animals from GB to the EU. Pre-Brexit this would have been perfectly fine.

 

[Eighth Eye Blind]

Pre-Brexit this would have been perfectly fine.

That depends on the species. You can't move animals on Annex A of the EU wildlife regulations between EU countries without a permit even if they were captive bred inside the EU. Individual countries also have their own requirements. The same types of rules apply to movement between states inside the US, provinces in Canada, etc., etc., etc.

 

[m0lsx]

got done for not having paperwork in place

Yes, paperwork that is an essential part of his business. The same way dodging tax, health & safety & a raft of other assorted paperwork can land you in court.

 

[plessey]

That depends on the species. You can't move animals on Annex A of the EU wildlife regulations between EU countries without a permit even if they were captive bred inside the EU. Individual countries also have their own requirements. The same types of rules apply to movement between states inside the US, provinces in Canada, etc., etc., etc.

Don't ever recall receiving any paperwork from any European dealers with any tarantula order and I did use to buy a lot of Brachypelma. I do remember there being CITES paperwork for a Dumerils boa though, even had to get it microchipped as well iirc.

 

[plessey]

Yes, paperwork that is an essential part of his business. The same way dodging tax, health & safety & a raft of other assorted paperwork can land you in court.

I guess if you are a fan of bureaucracy then this is something to get upset about but unless the spiders were mistreated, badly packed and half of them dead then personally I won't lose any sleep over it. It is a bitter pill for some to swallow but there are probably a lot more spiders/species that have come into this hobby without correct or any paper work than there are with. I don't condone the illegal practices going on in this hobby (smuggling, brown boxing etc) but there will be no moral outrage from myself about it either. Others will feel differently I'm sure and that is cool. Regardless, the smugglers will keep on smuggling, the buyers will keep on buying and every few years a dealer will get hit hard by the law. As long as there is a hobby, this wheel will keep turning.

 

[Eighth Eye Blind]

Don't ever recall receiving any paperwork from any European dealers with any tarantula order and I did use to buy a lot of Brachypelma.

The CITES appendices and the EU annexes aren't identical. CITES only sets the minimum protections that signatories have to employ. Signatories are always able to increase protections beyond what CITES calls for.

A good example is the US listing five species of Poecilotheria as endangered which gives them effectively the same protection as CITES Appendix I even though they're actually listed in CITES Appendix II. The EU annexes work the same way so a species that's on CITES Appendix II and wouldn't normally need a permit for intra-EU transfer could still be banned from commerce inside the EU if it's on EU Annex A.

All Brachypelma species were added to CITES Appendix II back in the 1990's but they didn't get red listed by IUCN and bumped up in protection status until 2019. Ergo, Brachypelma you bought in the past may not have needed permits for EU-to-EU sales but may require them today.

Yeah, it's a complicated mess, but that's part of the point. The harder it is to get the permits the more incentive there is to captive-breed locally and reduce the strain on wild populations.

 

[Eighth Eye Blind]

As long as there is a hobby, this wheel will keep turning.

I absolutely agree, but we are at least slowing down the wheel quite a bit.

There are now licensed private breeding facilities in Mexico for Brachypelma spp. that have blanket CITES export permits from the Mexican government. Those facilities have practically wiped out illegal trade in some species. They are now even returning individuals to the wild to restore the populations depleted by poaching.

So the system is working. Countries are starting to realize that captive breeding and licensed export are the easiest ways of stopping illegal trade and protecting their remaining populations. That means cheaper and healthier animals for evreryone in the hobby.

 

[m0lsx]

I guess if you are a fan of bureaucracy then this is something to get upset about but unless the spiders were mistreated, badly packed and half of them dead then personally I won't lose any sleep over it.

Ever watched those Police TV shows & noticed how people who get stopped for one offence, but often are committing other offences too? People very rarely break one law in isolation. And if someone's business involves transporting Tarantulas, then doing so illegally is not just about bureaucracy. It is about doing that business legally & on a level playing field with other dealers.

Ultimately we do not know what exactly has happened here. But there is a history with Radoslaw & online posts he has made regarding his views on his feelings towards poached T's.

 

[m0lsx]

The smugglers will keep on smuggling, the buyers will keep on buying and every few years a dealer will get hit hard by the law. As long as there is a hobby, this wheel will keep turning.

No, that will only happen if customers exist for illegally caught T's.