The chef stopped at LAX with 40 frozen piranhas

LOS ANGELES (KABC) – A famous South American chef said he was arrested while he was taking 40 piranhas in a gym bag via the Los Angeles International Airport.

Virgilio Martinez, head of the Central restaurant in Peru, told the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday that he hoped to serve the sharp-toothed predatory fish at the month's long gastronomic festival. He said he wanted to give L.A. a taste of the fish traditionally served in the Amazon.

Martinez was featured in the third season of the Netflix Show "Chef's Table".

He added that customs officers took him to an interrogation room last week after discovering the cache of frozen and vacuum-sealed piranhas.

After five hours, the agents let Martinez pass with the fish. He used them that night on a salad. The newspaper says that the next night, he dried the skins of piranha and served them inside the piranha heads.

Piranhas are common in South American rivers.

The Associated Press has contributed to this story.