'Most Damaging Snails In The World' Seized At O'Hare

CHICAGO — A pair of highly invasive snails were discovered in the baggage of a passenger arriving at O'Hare International Airport earlier this month, authorities said.

Customs agents found two Giant African Snails while inspecting 10 suitcases a traveler had brought on a Feb. 7 flight from Ghana to Chicago, according U.S. Customs and Borders Protection spokesperson Steve Bansbach.

The Giant African Snail, or Lissachatina fulica, can damage hundreds of types of crops and some buildings. When eaten, they can cause rat lungworm and meningitis.

"The Giant African Snail threatens our natural resources, homes and are one of the most damaging snails in the world," Bansbach said in an email, "because it consumes at least 500 types of plants and can cause structural damages to plaster and stucco."

They can reproduce rapidly and have no natural predators in North America. Each snail can lay more than 1,000 eggs from a single mating and grow to about the size of a human fist.

The snails are illegal in the United States, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Other agricultural material found in the luggage destined for Chicago included 11 pounds of hot peppers and berries and 110 pounds of beef, cow skin and bones comingled with dry fish, according to customs officials.