An international student has been fined $35,000 after trying to smuggle more than 100 insects and spiders out of Australia.

Qiran Zhang, a 22-year-old university student from China , was arrested at Sydney International Airport on January 26 after Australian Border Force officers found 34 concealed packages inside his carry-on and checked-in luggage.

Officers discovered 125 specimens in total, including critically endangered atlas rainforest beetles, carabid beetles, giant rainforest centipedes, banded desert centipedes and banded huntsman spiders.

Among them, 76 were regulated native species.

One of the containers was labelled “Shanghai, 2000”, indicating a possible destination and sale value.

Zhang was charged with exporting Australian wildlife, pleaded guilty to all offences, and

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