HIALEAH (CBS4) ― There’s a safety alert in South Florida as the State Department of Agriculture says it is alarmed that a Hialeah man is being investigated for illegally bringing Giant African Snails into the U.S.

Authorities say 48-year-old Charles L. Stewart smuggled in the snails so that his followers could drink their mucus. He is being investigated by state and federal wildlife agencies.

“It’s important that people realize that the mollusk from these snails can cause a rare form of meningitis bacteria,” said Mark Fagan, of the state Agriculture Department. “People who

Handle the snails can face health risks that are very serious. That bacteria can be easily transferred to other people.”

Meningitis can cause a swelling of brain tissue.

In January federal agents raided the home of Charles Stewart, 48, after they received several complaints. Stewart says his religion, Ifa Orisha, uses the snails in healing ceremonies. Some followers said however they got violently sick, lost weight and developed strange lumps in their stomachs after ingesting the snail mucus.

It’s not known if all the snails were recovered in the raid. They were found in a box in Stewart’s back yard at 142 East 19th St., investigators say. Stewart claimed to have smuggled the snails into the U.S. in his luggage.

The Giant African Snail is prohibited in the U.S. without special approval. You have to have a special permit and the snails can only be used for scientific research. Experts say the snail, which can grow up to 10 inches, can devastate ecosystems; it eats more than 500 plant species, even plaster and stucco and can reproduce on its own.

“If people see them, don’t touch them or move them,” said Fagan “Contact us. We’ll come and get them.”

Fagan said if you think you’ve seen a Giant African snail or if you have information about illegal snail smuggling and import activity, call the Department’s toll free number: 888-397-1517.

For the last several decades, there was no known giant African snail in Florida. However, the state is no stranger to this massive mollusk. In 1966, a boy smuggled three snails into Miami as pets and his grandmother subsequently released them into her garden. Seven years later, more than 18,000 snails were found. It took almost 10 years and more than $1 million to eradicate this pest from Florida.

While not charged yet, Stewart could face a number of smuggling or customs violations in additional to civil penalties.

At his home, a woman who neighbors identified as his wife told D’Oench, “We’re not interested in talking to nobody. Thank you, nobody.” She then slammed the front door. We were not able to reach Stewart for comment. But he told our news partner at “The Miami Herald” that “I did not invent this. It’s something that is part of our religion. It’s not something meant to hurt anybody.”

The case is being investigated by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The Giant African Snail has periodically infested communities worldwide.

One news broadcast on You Tube featured a warning about a “Giant African Snail invasion” in Kochi, India.

“Giant African Snails are everywhere,” the broadcast said, “on homes, on leaves, under foot. It looks like a Hollywood science fiction movie but actually it is reality. Elsewhere people say the snails are gobbling all the vegetation, destroying gardens. Some people put salt on them and they shriveled up and died.”

The broadcast featured a man with rashes on his hand after picking up the snails.

 http://cbs4.com/local/Giant.African.Snail.2.1553805.html

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A patrol cop with a sensitive schnoz was credited today with uprooting what authorities say is the biggest marijuana-growing operation in New Jersey’s history.

Six people have been charged in relation to a major marijuana bust in New Jersey. Top row, from left: Ngoc Bui, Quyhn Bui, and Tuan Dang. Bottom row, from left: Minh Bui, Nhung Thack, and Thu Nguyen.

 Police last month raided six homes – several of them $1 million McMansions – and seized more than $10 million worth of cannabis growing inside under artificial lights, authorities announced today.

“While law enforcement in New Jersey has encountered high-tech indoor marijuana growing operations in the past, we have not seen anything to match the volume of production of this criminal enterprise,” said state Attorney General Paula T. Dow.

The bust might not have happened if Officer Thomas Lucasiewicz had been suffering from a head cold. The Monroe Township cop was on patrol Feb. 12 when he smelled burning marijuana in an upscale Middlesex County community.

At first, Lucasiewicz thought somebody might be smoking a joint in a car parked nearby, said Sgt. Steve Jones, a state police spokesman.

“But with his bloodhound senses, he realized it was much stronger than he first thought,” Jones said. “He followed his nose. Then he saw smoke rising from a chimney.”

Overpowered by the scent, Lucasiewicz called his squad. When backup arrived, Lucasiewicz knocked on the door of the single-story ranch house.

They were greeted by a surprised man, “the gardener, essentially, who was burning some of the unusable parts of the plants in the fireplace,” Jones said.

Lucasiewicz arrested the gardener, Thu N. Nguyen, 44, and, realizing he had uncovered a huge grow operation, called in the state police.

Inside the rented home, investigators found 1,064 plants in four cultivation areas set up in the basement and the master bedroom. In the garage they found 50 pounds of packaged pot.

During the following week, state police raided five more rented homes in Millstone Township, Old Bridge, Manahawkin and Manalapan.

“They each had been turned into pot factories,” Jones said.

Along with a vast array of indoor cultivation equipment, police seized 3,370 growing plants, 115 pounds of harvested marijuana and $65,000 cash from the four homes.

“These were not run-down houses,” Jones said. “These were high-end homes in affluent neighborhoods. Several of them were worth in excess of $1 million and rented for $4,000 a month.”

Jones said illicit growers usually don’t operate out of their own homes because the houses are subject to forfeiture.

The growers took the liberty of modifying several of the homes, cutting 16-inch holes in the floors and ceilings to accommodate vents and ductwork, Jones said.

Six people, all of Vietnamese descent, have been charged with running marijuana cultivation facilities. They were also charged with theft of services for bypassing utility meters. Three remain at large and are believed to have fled the country, Jones said.

Nguyen, a Canadian citizen, remained at the Middlesex County Jail after failing to post $1 million bail.

Tuan A. Dang, 35, of Port Monmouth, and Ngoc H. Bui, 35, naturalized U.S. citizens who were both arrested Feb. 18 at the Millstone Township operation, were charged with maintaining a marijuana-growing facility and other counts. They both remain lodged on $1 million bail each at the Monmouth County Jail.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20100310_Smell_of_pot_from_chimney_leads_to_record_bust.html

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Motorola to bring Microsoft’s Bing search, map services to its Android smart phones

Motorola Inc. said Thursday that it will add Microsoft Corp.’s Bing search and map functions to its smart phones that use Google Inc.’s Android operating software.

Motorola said it start by rolling out the services on smart phones in China this quarter.

The company will include a Bing bookmark on the phones’ mobile browsers and a new search “widget,” or mini application, that includes Bing.

Financial details of the agreement with Microsoft were not disclosed.

Motorola shares fell 8 cents to $7.03 in trading, while Microsoft shares fell 2 cents to $28.95.

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