Oregon man pleads guilty to importing live scorpions

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon man has pleaded guilty in federal court to illegally importing and exporting hundreds of live scorpions. The Oregon Department of Justice says Darren Drake pleaded guilty Monday to conspiring with others to commit Lacey Act violations. Court documents say from September 2017 into March 2018, Drake imported and exported dozens of live scorpions from and to contacts in Germany without obtaining an import-export license from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Documents say one intercepted parcel had been falsely labeled as chocolates. Drake also mailed or received several hundred live scorpions from other U.S. states, including Michigan and Texas, in violation of federal mailing laws.