Australian cockroach kingpin caught with 100,000 illegal insects in record bug bust

More than 100,000 live cockroaches illegal to keep in Australia were confiscated from a single breeder in the country’s largest-ever seizure of exotic invertebrates, officials said Friday.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — More than 100,000 live cockroaches that are illegal to keep in Australia were confiscated from a single breeder in the country’s largest-ever seizure of exotic invertebrates, officials said Friday.

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The haul of Madagascar hissing cockroaches and dubia cockroaches, worth 200,000 Australian dollars ($142,000), was seized in May from a commercial breeder in the city of Bathurst in the state of New South Wales, according to Australia’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water.

The Madagascar hissing species is one of the world’s biggest cockroaches, measuring 2 to 3 inches in length. Photos released by the department showed a shiny, brown invertebrate larger than a person’s finger.