Gaijin smuggle drugs, Japanese smuggle...

[Mulboyne]

[Greji]

I can hear it now!

"Psst, kid! You want a little something extra nice?" Sure man, whacha ya got?" "Well, I can let you have a dime bag of kabutomushi if you want that little edge!"

[Mulboyne]

From here

[Mulboyne]

LA Times: Colombian cashes in on beetle-mania abroad

Cooing softly in baby talk, German Viasus gently uses a toothbrush to bathe the little animal he has raised since infancy and then pampers it with a fresh meal of mango, bananas and melon. The object of his affection? A beetle the size of a hamster with a hard, shiny shell and 2-inch-long horns. Viasus, 36, is a Colombian entrepreneur who is exploiting the beetle-mania sweeping Japan by raising and exporting hundreds of the creepy-crawlies every month...Viasus seems to feel as much affection for the insects as do his Asian clients, possibly because his business, which is approved by both Colombian and Japanese governments, is so lucrative. He ships 300 giant beetles a month that retail for as much as $350 each in Tokyo pet stores...The beetles' popularity with Japanese boys may stem from the fact that "their bodies resemble the headwear of a samurai warrior," said Gavin Whitelaw, a research anthropologist at Harvard who specializes in Japanese culture. "But it's not just kids' stuff. Collecting beetles and other insects is an integral part of people's lives, interests and social networks"...more...