A Southwest Airlines employee called police after finding 40 to 60 human heads in a package set to be transported to a Fort Worth medical research company, the airline said.
"It wasn't labeled or packaged properly," said Ashley Rogers, a Southwest spokeswoman. "They called the local authorities."
The incident happened in Little Rock, Ark., last Wednesday, she said.
Little Rock police turned the heads over to the county coroner, who questions where they came from and if they were properly obtained
"We've come to the conclusion that there is a black market out there for human body parts for research or for whatever reason," said Pulaski County coroner Garland Camper. "We just want to make sure these specimens here aren't a part of that black market and underground trade."
The heads were being transported to the Fort Worth office of Medtronic, a leading medical research and technology company based in Minnesota.
Medtronic spokesman Brian Henry said it is common to ship body parts for medical education and research, but he said it is rare for a shipment to be seized.
"We expect our suppliers to follow proper procedures," he said.
He identified the supplier as JLS Consulting of Wynne, Ark.
JLS's business license was revoked in December, according to the Arkansas Secretary of State's online database.
Company founder Janice Hepler did not return phone calls Wednesday. Her voice mail indicated it was full and no longer accepting messages.
"It wasn't labeled or packaged properly," said Ashley Rogers, a Southwest spokeswoman. "They called the local authorities."
The incident happened in Little Rock, Ark., last Wednesday, she said.
Little Rock police turned the heads over to the county coroner, who questions where they came from and if they were properly obtained
"We've come to the conclusion that there is a black market out there for human body parts for research or for whatever reason," said Pulaski County coroner Garland Camper. "We just want to make sure these specimens here aren't a part of that black market and underground trade."
The heads were being transported to the Fort Worth office of Medtronic, a leading medical research and technology company based in Minnesota.
Medtronic spokesman Brian Henry said it is common to ship body parts for medical education and research, but he said it is rare for a shipment to be seized.
"We expect our suppliers to follow proper procedures," he said.
He identified the supplier as JLS Consulting of Wynne, Ark.
JLS's business license was revoked in December, according to the Arkansas Secretary of State's online database.
Company founder Janice Hepler did not return phone calls Wednesday. Her voice mail indicated it was full and no longer accepting messages.
