Trail of slime leads German customs to bags of giant snails

BERLIN (AP) — German customs officials say a trail of slime led them to a stash of almost 100 giant African land snails and other items hidden inside bags at Duesseldorf Airport this month. In a statement Friday, authorities said officials stumbled over one of the snails on a baggage truck and initially thought it was a toy until it started moving. By following the trail left by the 8-inch snail, they found a bag with a hole and another snail already peeping out. In all, officials found six bags containing 93 giant snails, 62 pounds of fish and smoked meat, and a suitcase full of rotting meat. The snails were handed to an animal rescue service in Duesseldorf and the meat was destroyed.