Cairo: Security officers at Cairo's international airport have stopped an Egyptian man trying to smuggle eight live foxes and 50 chameleons out of the country.

Police say the officers stopped a 36-year-old traveler on Wednesday with a suspicious large suitcase, then opened it to find the animals in small plastic cages.

Police confiscated the animals, which would be given to a zoo. The officers made a report but the man was let go.

The man purportedly intended to sell the animals in Thailand, use the money to buy cell phone parts and a computer that he would resell upon returning to Egypt.

The police say the man later turned back, saying he didn't want to travel without the animals.

It's unclear if any charges would be pressed.