A US airline worker has discovered between 40 and 60 human heads during a routine security check, prompting fears of a black market trade in body parts.
A Southwest employee made the grim discovery of up to 60 human heads
The Southwest Airlines employee made the gruesome dicovery when he realised the container, bound for a medical research company in Fort Worth, Texas, had not been labelled properly.
Now officials in Little Rock, Arkansas, where the heads were found, are investigating whether they are part of an illegal trade in human body parts.
"We've come to the conclusion that there is a black market out there for human body parts for research or for whatever reason," said county coroner Garland Camper.
"We just want to make sure these specimens here aren't a part of that black market and underground trade."
The package was being sent to a company called Medtronic which maintains that it is common to ship body parts for medical education and research.
However, spokesman Brian Henry admitted it was very rare for a shipment to be seized.
"We expect our suppliers to follow procedures," he said.
Mr Henry identified the supplier as JLS Consulting, a company which, according to an Arkansas online database, had its business licence revoked last year.
But company founder Janice Hepler has spoken out to a local newspaper to blame a private courrier she hired to transport the heads.
"Nothing is wrong," she was quoted as saying. "We're providing the documentation."
Although US federal law prohibits the sale of human body parts, suppliers can be reimbursed for expenses in the case of legitimate research.
A Southwest employee made the grim discovery of up to 60 human heads
The Southwest Airlines employee made the gruesome dicovery when he realised the container, bound for a medical research company in Fort Worth, Texas, had not been labelled properly.
Now officials in Little Rock, Arkansas, where the heads were found, are investigating whether they are part of an illegal trade in human body parts.
"We've come to the conclusion that there is a black market out there for human body parts for research or for whatever reason," said county coroner Garland Camper.
"We just want to make sure these specimens here aren't a part of that black market and underground trade."
The package was being sent to a company called Medtronic which maintains that it is common to ship body parts for medical education and research.
However, spokesman Brian Henry admitted it was very rare for a shipment to be seized.
"We expect our suppliers to follow procedures," he said.
Mr Henry identified the supplier as JLS Consulting, a company which, according to an Arkansas online database, had its business licence revoked last year.
But company founder Janice Hepler has spoken out to a local newspaper to blame a private courrier she hired to transport the heads.
"Nothing is wrong," she was quoted as saying. "We're providing the documentation."
Although US federal law prohibits the sale of human body parts, suppliers can be reimbursed for expenses in the case of legitimate research.