More than 100 thousand exotic cockroaches worth $200 thousand were seized in Australia.

In New South Wales, security officers seized more than 100,000 live exotic cockroaches worth $200,000. This was reported on June 5 by The Guardian newspaper.

"In New South Wales, during a record—breaking operation related to the pet trade, more than 100,000 live exotic cockroaches were seized from a commercial breeder," the material says.

According to the newspaper, among the seized cockroaches were individuals of the Dubia species and Madagascar hissing cockroaches, one of the largest cockroach species in the world. The author of the article suggests that cockroaches were probably intended for trade, including for use as food for reptiles.

This is Australia's largest seizure of illegal exotic invertebrates. It is forbidden to import exotic cockroaches into the country, which means they cannot be kept, bred or sold. The presence of exotic cockroaches in Australia may "contribute to the spread of diseases and harm local wildlife and agriculture."

On June 3, German authorities seized 8 tons of cocaine disguised as cocoa, worth €500 million. During the search, more than 400 packages of compressed cocaine briquettes wrapped in black foil and equipped with GPS trackers were found.