A person tried to smuggle highly invasive snails into Detroit from Africa and a border patrol search of luggage may have saved some American lives and the environment.

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Philippe Huguen/AFP via Getty Images
Philippe Huguen/AFP via Getty Images
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The U.S. Customs and Border Protection workers are on the job at all our borders trying to prevent bad things from coming into the United States.

Steve Parsons/PA Images via Getty Images
Steve Parsons/PA Images via Getty Images
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These men and women work hard every day trying to protect us but we rarely hear about what they actually find that people are trying to smuggle into Michigan.

What is a Giant African Snail?

Chanda Khanna/AFP via Getty Images
Chanda Khanna/AFP via Getty Images
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As you can see in the photo above the Giant African Snail is huge and they can get bigger than a human's hand.

Dominic Lipinski/PA Images via Getty Images
Dominic Lipinski/PA Images via Getty Images
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The Giant African Snail eats over 500 different types of plants, they also eat fruits, vegetables, and even tree bark. These snails pose a huge threat to Michigan's environment.

Frank Bienewald/LightRocket via Getty Images
Frank Bienewald/LightRocket via Getty Images
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Giant African Snail also carries a parasite that causes meningitis which is a huge risk to humans.

U.S. Border Agents in Detroit Find 6 Live Giant African Snails In Travelers Luggage

U.S. Customs and Border Protection
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
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Kudos to the U.S. Border Protection agents who discovered the 6 live Giant African Snails in luggage that a traveler from Ghana was trying to smuggle into Detroit.

Luis Bravo/AFP via Getty Images
Luis Bravo/AFP via Getty Images
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According to MLive, the person bringing the snails to Detroit, brought them to eat. Many people around the world eat these snails or even keep them as pets.

SEE MORE: Animals That Are on Michigan's Endangered Species List

MORE: Unique Pets You Can Legally Own In Michigan