Luggage may hold an explosive surprise

By JAMEY KEATEN
The Associated Press

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Police say there was no chance the 5 ounces of explosives could go off since they were not connected to detonators.

However, there was the possibility the explosives could fall into the hands of terrorists or criminals, or lead to legal problems for an unsuspecting passenger if discovered by security at other airports.

The luggage that police used Friday for the exercise has not turned up yet, and no passenger has contacted French authorities to report discovering a bag with nearly 5 ounces of explosives tucked into his or her suitcase.

Police say there was no chance the explosives could go off since they were not connected to detonators. Still, Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin was critical of the mistake.

"The fight against terrorism and insecurity is a priority for the government," a statement by his office said. "But [Raffarin] made clear his concern in the face of the way the training for explosives searches was conducted at Roissy Charles de Gaulle."

Raffarin said the procedure was "susceptible to making the relevant passenger run a risk in the eyes of foreign authorities when arriving in the destination country."

Police soon after announced they had ordered a stop.

"The procedures that were used Friday night will no longer be allowed," said Pierre Bouquin, a spokesman for France's police force, which conducted the training.

"We're going to stop practicing this on the bags of travelers" in all of France.

Bouquin said the luggage was lost on a conveyor belt carrying bags through a restricted area from check-in to planes. No one saw the bag go on a plane, but "there is a very strong chance that it left" on one, he said.
 
The explosives could have made it onto one of up to 90 flights leaving Charles de Gaulle airport.

Police did not know the bag's destination and quickly alerted the relevant airlines. Three flights that arrived in Los Angeles and New York were searched, but the luggage in question was not found.

Two police officers faced disciplinary action, Bouquin said.