Man: Smuggled lizards a 'food supply'

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MUNICH, Germany, May 9 (UPI) -- Authorities in Germany said a man stopped at an airport with 49 lizards in his suitcase told customs officers he planned to eat them.

The customs office at Munich airport said officers found the lizards, including 31 spiny-tailed lizards and 18 geckos, during a routine security check when the man arrived from Oman. He told the agents the reptiles were his "personal food supply" and offered to bite one of their heads off to prove it, The Local reported Wednesday.

"Of course we stopped him doing that," a customs spokesman said.

The spokesman said officers are skeptical of the man's lizard-eating claims.

"He was going to eat the lizard right there," the spokesman said. "But they are worth several hundred euros each on the black market, so he might have wanted to sell them."

Authorities said the man is likely to be fined several thousand dollars for transporting protected animals.

The lizards were seized and taken to a veterinarian for care.