Human fetuses found in luggage at airport

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MIAMI, March 23 (UPI) -- Customs agents at Miami International Airport found two jarred human fetuses in the luggage of two women returning from Cuba, officials said.

The fetuses were to be delivered to a Miami practitioner of one of the mixed Catholic and African religions practiced in Cuba, such as Santeria, The Miami Herald reported.

Miami Dade Police Department spokesman Roy Rutland said Thursday the two fetuses were found Jan. 30 in the luggage of two older Cuban-American women.

"The medical examiner made a determination that both of the fetuses were close to 20 weeks and both had been stillborn -- they were not viable," he added.

The women told customs agents they had been given the jars by a Santeria priest and asked to deliver them to a Miami resident, Rutland said.

They said they did not know the contents of the jars and were not charged with any crime, Rutland said.

Rutland did not identify either of the women or the person to whom the jars were to be delivered, citing privacy concerns.