LEAVE it to Miami to shock even a reality-TV film crew. The crew was shooting footage at Miami International Airport for an upcoming episode when customs agents found a pair of human foetuses in the luggage of two women returning from Havana.
The foetuses were to be delivered to someone in Miami and used in a Santeria-like religious ritual, according to two people knowledgeable about the case.
"I've never heard of anything like this," said Pat Diaz, who retired two years ago after 25 years on the homicide squad of the Miami-Dade Police Department.
The incident, filmed by a crew for an upcoming show called MIA, went unreported for more than a month.
The Miami Herald learned of it independently, and MDPD spokesman Roy Rutland confirmed it today.
The fetuses, a male and a female, were found on January 30 in the luggage of two Cuban American women - one in her 60s and the other who looked to be in her 70s.
"I've never heard of anything like this," said Pat Diaz, who retired two years ago after 25 years on the homicide squad of the Miami-Dade Police Department.
The incident, filmed by a crew for an upcoming show called MIA, went unreported for more than a month.
The Miami Herald learned of it independently, and MDPD spokesman Roy Rutland confirmed it today.
The fetuses, a male and a female, were found on January 30 in the luggage of two Cuban American women - one in her 60s and the other who looked to be in her 70s.
US.Customs and Border Protection agents spotted one of the foetuses when they X-rayed a sealed jar.
A second was discovered when the jar was opened, according to Rutland.
"The medical examiner made a determination that both of the foetuses were close to 20 weeks and both had been stillborn - they were not viable," Rutland added, making it clear that there was no foul play in the deaths of the fetuses.
Some Miami residents are trying to arrange proper burials for the fetuses here, said an airline industry official at the airport who tipped the Herald to the story.
The two women explained to US authorities that they received the jar in Havana from a babalao - a Santeria priest - and were asked to deliver it to someone in Miami, the airline industry official told the newspaper.
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