VERONA - Customs officials at an airport in the Italian city of Verona recently discovered a huge shipment of cocaine being shipped along with lobsters.

A 51-year-old man had been attempting to get the case of lobsters cleared through customs at the airport under the guise of being an international chef, but an initial background check by customs officials quickly exposed the truth, the ANSA news agency reported Wednesday.

The officials' computer search showed that the restaurant the man allegedly owned in Italy did not actually exist and the man's criminal record showed a history of drug trafficking.

Further inspection of the case of crustaceans, which the man allegedly bought on the Cape Verde islands, revealed that 37.4 pounds of cocaine had been hidden underneath the lobsters.

ANSA said that police promptly arrested the man as his elderly mother, who was vacationing with him, looked on in apparent disbelief.

Copyright ©  2007, by United Press International. All Rights Reserved.