French Snails Saved From Cooking Pot

Thousands of snails were saved Saturday from becoming escargot-- delicacies cooked in butter, garlic and parsley.

During a routine check on a car near this eastern town, police discovered 264 pounds of snails. It is illegal in France to collect them before the summer.

Police fined the car’s four occupants, who admitted they planned to sell their catch to a local shopkeeper. Police set the snails free.