CAIRO: A barbecue party hosted by a group of Chinese expatriates in Cairo has sent shockwaves across Egypt after pictures of the event appeared to show snakes were the main course.
Panicking neighbors at a New Cairo residential compound reported that their Chinese neighbors were grilling snakes in their garden, prompting police to storm their place of residence.
The concerned onlookers saw a large quantity of long slender bodies lying on tables under the sun.
They alleged that the Chinese expats were barbecuing snakes.
Pictures that went viral on social media showed a massive amount of food being prepared for the grilling party at the villa of a Chinese woman, despite officials instructing people to social distance to limit the spread of coronavirus, even inside compounds.
Egyptian prosecutors ordered five Chinese nationals be detained for 24 hours over the incident, according to Al-Ahram.
But it turned out that they were cooking meals of animals' genitals, not grilled snakes, a veterinary official has clarified in TV comments.
Sayed Obaid, director of Cairo’s Veterinary Medicine, said a team of specialists was formed to examine whether the seized food was harmful, as snakes are not normally eaten in Egypt.
The villa was disinfected in coordination with security authorities and police confiscated a number of the food from the woman’s home.
