A woman and her daughter were stopped at the airport in Munich, Germany after authorities found human remains in their luggage.
The 74-year-old Armenian woman was traveling with her 52-year-old daughter from Greece to Yerevan with a stopover in Munich. German customs officers spotted a wooden box in one of the bags where they found a human skeleton.
Upon questioning, the elderly woman revealed that her husband was buried in 2008 near the couple’s home in Thessaloniki, Greece. She told the officers that she was now repatriating his bones to be buried in his native country Armenia.
A doctor and a prosecutor were brought in to investigate the case.
After careful review, officials concluded no crime had been committed. According to the federal police, the transfer was lawful. The public prosecutor also saw no relevance to criminal law. Therefore, the women were allowed to continue the trip to the Caucasus, along with the remains.
It is not clear why the wife waited 12 years to repatriate her husband’s body.
As bizarre as this sounds, Munich Airport appears to be the go-to route for people wanting to transfer human remains. The latest incident is not the first time that the airport police found a skeleton in someone’s luggage.
Back in 2008, two elderly women stunned police when they passed through security with a human skull and several bones in their carry-on bags.
Security staff spotted human remains during the security screening process. According to a local report, the remains were placed in a sealed bag.
During questioning, the women, ages 62 and 63, told authorities they had been carrying out the last wish of a man who died 11 years ago in Sao Paulo to be buried in Italy.
The police allowed the two women to continue on to Naples with their baggage after confirming with the Brazilian police.
