A woman from Morocco was caught at customs in an Austrian airport trying to smuggle in the entrails of her husband claiming that she wanted them examined for signs of poisoning.
The customs officers at Graz international airport made the shocking discovery during a customs baggage check of a woman travelling into Austria from Morocco, reports Kleine Zeitung.
According to the Moroccan national, her husband had recently passed away during surgery and she suspected her husband may have been murdered by medical staff. In an effort to prove her theory, she managed to acquire several parts of the man’s intestines and transported them in two Tupperware-like containers.
Initially, there was confusion as to how to proceed with the woman’s request as Austrian pathologists do not have jurisdiction over cases from other countries.
A doctor was able to arrive on the scene in order to examine the remains but told the woman that there was no way, even if a full pathological test was granted, that a doctor could assert the real cause of death without the rest of the body present.
The local authorities have taken the entrails from the woman and put them into storage, ahead of possible further forensic analysis.
The woman attempted to press for a full forensic examination, though the Austrian government has not so far granted her request. The Moroccan has not been charged with any crime.
Authorities have expressed concern earlier this year over the potential of migrants being smuggled and having their organs harvested when they are unable to pay the high prices of people smugglers.
Some have also warned of underage migrants being trafficked into sexual slavery and drug running as a result of unpaid debts. Many of those debts are now being collected by affiliates of Islamic State, or the terrorist group itself.
Islamic State has been making a significant financial gain through people smuggling after Russian air strikes to Islamic State-controlled oil fields destroyed their ability to sell oil on the black market.