"French Police Find Explosives on Jet"

Friday, September 27, 2002

Explosives Found on Morocco Jet
By PIERRE-ANTOINE SOUCHARD
The Associated Press


PARIS (AP) - Explosives of the same type as found on alleged shoe bomber
Richard Reid were discovered on a Moroccan jet after passengers left the
flight at an airport in eastern France, authorities said Thursday. 

There was no detonator attached to the 3 1/2 ounces of explosives
discovered in the passenger section of a Royal Air Maroc airplane on
Wednesday night after it landed at the Metz-Nancy-Lorraine airport,
according to police. 

Judicial sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, identified the
explosive material as pentrite and said it was the same as the substance
Reid, a British citizen, allegedly tried to detonate on an American
Airlines flight from Paris to Miami on Dec. 22. 

The airline refused immediate comment on the case when called by The
Associated Press. 

The explosives found Wednesday were wrapped in aluminum foil, police
said, indicating it might have been in transit for delivery. The Boeing
737 originated in Marrakech. 

There were conflicting reports on the damage the explosives could have
inflicted. 

The judicial sources said the amount of explosives was sufficient to
blow up a plane, but they had been unable to find a fuse mechanism
needed for detonation. 

Royal Air Maroc said French investigators told the company that the
quantity of explosives was too small to pose a risk. 

The explosives were found between armrests by dogs from the customs
service as they performed a routine search of the plane. Anti-terrorism
police were investigating the find, along with the counterintelligence
agency known as the DST. 

Pentrite is found in the plastic explosive Semtex, which was used in the
bomb attack on Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988 that
killed 270 people. 

Reid is charged with attempting to blow up the American Airlines flight
with explosives hidden in his shoes. Passengers and crew members
restrained him after he allegedly tried to light a fuse. The flight was
diverted to Boston.


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