Uncovering a crime is as easy as following the yellow brick road. Customs officials at a German airport followed a trail of slime that led them directly to a stash of nearly 100 giant African land snails hidden inside bags.
The discovery was made after officials tripped over one of the snails on a baggage truck at Duesseldorf Airport. They initially thought the 8-inch snail was a toy but it started moving. After following the trail left by the mollusc, the authorities were led to a bag with a hole in it. Another snail was trying to make its getaway when they arrived.
“Never in the history of the Duesseldorf customs office has a trail of slime led us to smuggled goods,” said its spokesman Michael Walk.
Throughout the six bags that were discovered by officials, 93 giant snails, 62 pounds of fish and smoked meat and a suitcase full of rotting meat were among the items inside. All of the bags had been imported from Nigeria and were headed for an African goods store located in western Germany.
Custom officials confirmed that an animal rescue service in Duesseldorf was able to take in the snails and the meat was disposed of.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/oddities-germany-animals-7db96af847d517d733f3b459394abc05