Dutch baffled by Nigerian baboon noses

Dutch authorities are trying to track down who left a foul-smelling suitcase at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport containing up to 2,000 decomposing baboon noses . The gruesome discovery was made by security guards during a routine patrol last week.

Officials say the bizarre shipment was brought from Nigeria and was destined for the United States.

Baboons are protected under international conventions and their body parts cannot be exported without authorisation.

They are listed as an endangered species by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or Cites.

"The stench from the luggage drew the attention of the security staff," Louis Steens of the Dutch Agriculture Ministry's Inspection Service told BBC News Online.

Sniffer dogs were used to locate the suspect suitcase in the packed left-luggage area, he said.

"It's not unusual to find animal organs, such as eyes and brains or plants in baggage from Asia and Africa - whose people use them as ingredients of their traditional medicines for healing purposes," Mr Steens said.

But, he said, they had never come across such an enormous number of baboon noses.

"It's weird! It's a health hazard too," he said.

The Dutch authorities say they have contacted their counterparts in Nigeria and Cites to assist with their investigations.

The noses, weighing a total of around 30 kilograms (66 lbs), have been destroyed.