An image of the various live giant land snails that were seized at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. / Credit: U.S. Customs and Border Protection
15 live giant land snails —shipped from Nigeria as contents of an airline passenger’s luggage earlier this month at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas. US
U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced the discovery Tuesday, saying that the snails are capable of causing rare forms of meningitis in humans.
The said female passenger travelling from Nigeria declared that she had brought dried beef with her, but later added the snails to her declaration, CBP said.
While Giant snails are delicious items in Nigeria and throughout West Africa, it is illegal in the US.
“Our agriculture specialists remain vigilant in protecting the U.S. from foreign animal and plant disease that could threaten U.S. crop production and livestock industry or be transmitted to humans,”
The USDA has taken control of the snails, and said on its website that it is “one of the most damaging snails in the world.” It can grow to be almost 8 inches in length and 5 inches in diameter, about the size of an adult’s fist, the USDA said.
AFRO WORLD NEWS
