A Nintendo NES games update has confirmed that old cartridges are being used to smuggle in illegal goods to the United States.

But not just any old contraband, apparently 73 spiders had been hidden in old Famicom game cartridges, which were intercepted at the United States-Mexico border.

According to Mexican newspaper La Crónica de Hoy, 73 plastic tubes were found in the haul, all containing arachnid hosts.

The ten cartridges were intercepted at customs in Guadalajara International Airport earlier this week, with the packages heading for Hanover, Maryland.

Apart from the terrible cruelty being done to the spiders during the trip, it may also scare Nintendo Switch owners to think that their own console games include cartridges that may come from further afield then they know.