Some of the scorpions and millipedes escaped from a package while on a mail truck on the way to the man's Middlesex County home, authorities say
Middlesex County postal employees knew something was wrong when they spotted millipedes and scorpions crawling around a mail truck and inside the post office three summers ago.
The critters were the work of Wlodzimie Lapkiewicz, a Metuchen man arrested Thursday on federal charges accusing him of smuggling the endangered species into the country, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.
Lapkiewicz, 29, shipped multiple species of insects from places like Tanzania to New Jersey and falsely labeled packages to avoid detection, authorities allege.
He recently labeled one box containing multiple live, giant millipedes: "Plush Toys for my Friends Child about to be born." Another was labeled "entomological supplies," the complaint against him says.
Authorities say Lapkiewicz repeatedly smuggled scorpions, giant millipedes and other invertebrate species between July 2015 and July 2018, and was twice warned about his actions. He's charged with wildlife smuggling and false labeling of wildlife.
Federal officials say he was selling the creatures through his Facebook page.
Postal inspectors first learned of the imports in July 2015 when live scorpions and millipedes escaped from a package - which originated from Tanzania in east Africa - while on a truck that was on the way to Lapkiewicz's home.
A postal inspector interviewed Lapkiewicz that month, and he admitted ordering 20 emperor scorpions, 20 giant African millipedes, and five egg cases containing praying mantises.
The inspector told Lapkiewicz that it was unlawful to import live species via mail and gave Lapkiewicz a warning because he said they were for personal use, the complaint says.
A similar incident occurred two months later, in September 2015, when two more millipedes were found on the loose in the post office.
Meanwhile, in France, customs officers seized two more packages addressed to Lapkiewicz, one containing 69 millipedes and one with 46 live emperor scorpions. They originated in Cameroon.
In December 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service met with Lapkiewicz and they told him it was illegal to import invertebrates without obtaining the necessary authorizations. They filed no charges and told him to stop, the complaint says.
Federal investigators kept on him and found several individuals who purchased invertebrates or insects from Lapkiewicz, the complaint says. And he kept importing insects.
On June 20, customs officers in Indianapolis intercepted a Federal Express package addressed to Lapkiewicz containing live giant millipedes. And on July 3, fish and wildlife agents at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York intercepted a package with 245 small containers with live orchid mantids inside.
Two species of scorpions that Lapkiewicz was importing, emperor and dictator scorpions, are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
Lapkiewicz, who's Facebook page is under Wlodek Lapkiewicz, is listed under that name as working at the Philadelphia Insectarium, as the living colonies director.
A call to the insectarium was not immediately returned Thursday evening.
Lapkiewicz could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the wildlife smuggling charge. The false labeling of wildlife charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
After a court appearance Thursday, in federal court in Newark, Lapkiewicz was released on $50,000 bond.
Gianluca D'Elia may be reached at gdelia@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @gianluca_delia. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
