"French police in airport explosives scandal to be disciplined"

Tuesday, December 7, 2004

Police in airport explosives scandal to be disciplined
Agence France-Presse


PARIS, (AFP) - Two police officers who bungled a training exercise with the
result that a slab of explosives was placed on a flight out of Charles de
Gaulle airport are to face disciplinary proceedings, the headquarters of the
gendarmerie in Paris said Tuesday.

The two men are also being suspended from their functions as dog-handlers
because of "grave professional misconduct."

Police services around the world were continuing to hunt for the 150 grams
of explosives -- the size of a bar of chocolate -- which left Paris on an
unknown flight on Friday evening. 

Experts said the material is harmless because it is not connected to a
detonator.

In a routine test the two dog-handlers placed the bar of explosives inside a
random bag as it passed on a conveyor belt between check-in and the aircraft
loading bays.

One dog successfully detected the item, but the other did not. Before it had
the chance to have another attempt, the bag had been taken off towards its
destination.

Police described the bag as a small blue hold-all around 60 centimetres
long. The explosives were placed in a zipped compartment.

On Monday Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin described the police
behaviour as "reprehensible and scandalous" and promised an investigation.


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