Giant land snails got stuck in German customs

Giant land snails got stuck in German customs

Published: Less than 20 min ago

full screen German customs made an unexpected find – close to a hundred giant land snails. Photo courtesy of the Florida Department of Agriculture. Archive image. Photo: J Pat Carter/AP/TT

Customs at Düsseldorf airport made an odd discovery last week – close to a hundred African giant land snails, the Rheinische Post reports.

Customs were led to the find by traces of slime on a baggage car. What they thought was a toy turned out to be a two-centimeter-long snail, which had left behind a sticky liquid, and as they followed it, they could see with their own eyes a second snail trying to get out of a bag.

In total, 93 giant snails, 28 kilograms of fish and smoked meat were found distributed in six suitcases, one of which was filled with rotten meat. Everything had been imported from Nigeria with the intended destination being a business in the Ruhr area.

The snails have been handed over to an animal rights organization. The meat has been destroyed, the customs state.

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