(WEED$TEELER AFRICA DESK) — Namibian police found a suspicious piece of luggage being loaded onto a plane bound for Germany, German Federal Police said Thursday — but there was confusion over what was actually inside the luggage and where it was found.
Germany’s Federal Crime Office, the BKA, said the suitcase contained batteries, wires, and a running clock, and that it was being loaded onto a Germany-bound Air Berlin flight from the Namibian capital, Windhoek.
Namibian journalist John Grobler, however, told CNN he learned “it was no more than a carton full of old dirty clothes, possibly belonging to some tourists who didn’t want to pack it in their suitcase.” He said it was a “false alarm.”
Grobler said he got the information from police, then said it came from eyewitnesses.
Yet another version of events came from the airline, which said the package was actually found in one of the baggage halls at the airport and was not marked with any destination. An Air Berlin spokeswoman said the item wasn’t necessarily destined for the flight — or for Germany.
The Namibia Airports Company, which runs the Windhoek airport, said the suspicious item was found at the luggage screening point prior to loading, though it did not specify whether the item was supposed to be loaded onto the Air Berlin flight.
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