A mummified foetus has been discovered in a plane toilet at Madrid’s international airport.
Police made the gruesome find in the aircraft at Barajas’ Airport Terminal 4 after it touched down in the Spanish capital from Cuba.
Tests are now taking place to confirm whether the foetus is that of an ape, as investigators suspect, or is human.
Spanish daily El Mundo said investigators had their doubts because of the state it was in.
It is said to have been hidden wrapped up in a piece of cloth in the space where the paper towels are left in plane toilets.
It was reportedly discovered during a routine police search. The airline involved has not been named.
No-one from the Civil Guard in Madrid, the force that made the discovery, was immediately available for comment this afternoon.
The police force are understood to have questioned the flight crew, who have insisted they have no idea how the foetus got on the plane.
They have also been given a passenger list so they can start quizzing people on board the aircraft if necessary.
A court in Madrid is coordinating a judicial probe.
Civil Guard officers told local press they are yet to receive a report from forensic experts confirming whether the foetus is human or animal.
The discovery was made on July 3 but has only just been made public.
Two Cuban-American OAPS were stopped at Miami Airport in March 2012 with two foetuses hidden in their luggage.
Reports at the time said the 20-week-old human foetuses were due to be used by priests practicing Santeria, which developed in Cuba among West African descendants and literally means the ‘worship of saints’ but is sometimes dubbed a form of Caribbean black magic.
