- Four human skulls were discovered in a package at a Mexican airport in Querétaro, which was intended to be shipped to the United States.
- The National Guard is investigating the shipment, which may violate Mexican laws on handling corpses. The package was shipped from the southern city of Apatzingán, in the state of Michoacán, which is known for drug gang activity.
- The transfer of human remains requires government authorization in Mexico, and the package did not have the proper documents. An investigation is being conducted to determine the identities of those responsible and the provenance of the skulls.
Authorities found a strange package containing four human skulls at a local airport in central Mexico that was to be sent to the United States, a terrifying discovery that alerted a number of people at the site, according to information published by TV Azteca news portal and the AP agency.
The National Guard reported that its agents were called to an airport in the city of Querétaro after X-rays detected strange silhouettes in a cardboard box. The box was being shipped from the southern city of Apatzingán, in the state of Michoacán, to an address in Manning, South Carolina.
Does it break the law?
When National Guard agents opened the box, they found four human skulls wrapped in plastic and aluminum foil. The Guard indicated that the shipment, regardless of how the skulls were obtained or whether they were for medical studies, may violate Mexican corpse handling laws.
Michoacán is one of Mexico’s most violent states, and the Los Viagras drug gang has long controlled the city of Apatzingán. The news that skulls were found at Mexico’s airport was reported, and an investigation will be conducted to determine their provenance.
They find skulls at Mexico airport: Where were they heading to?
Minutes later, authorities confirmed that the package would be sent to the city of Manning in the United States. According to TV Azteca, the skulls were wrapped in transparent plastic and aluminum foil, a package from a courier and parcel company located inside the airport center.
This could constitute a crime since transferring any human remains requires government authorization, especially in the conditions in which they were found. The pertinent investigations are being carried out to find those responsible and to determine their identities.
They find skulls at the Mexico airport: IS THIS A CRIME?
The authorities commented that the package did not have documents that “protect its legal, origin and transportation,” established in the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States in article 350 bis 3, which refers to “the internment and exit of corpses from the national territory can only be done by authorization of the Ministry of Health or by order of the judicial authority or the Public Prosecutor’s Office.”
And the article adds: “Meanwhile, in the case of the transfer of corpses between states, it will be required to notify the competent health authority of the place where the death certificate has been issued. Likewise, for those that have teaching and research purposes, “the consent of the disposing party is required,” while if they are unknown persons, they will have to have the authorization of the Public Ministry or establishments that provide medical care or social assistance services, as long as the educational institutions must give notice to the Ministry of Health.
Where are the remains?
The authorities only said that while the investigations are being carried out, the National Guard elements will keep them in safekeeping to notify the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office later and initiate the investigation folder so that the Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) will be in charge of continuing the corresponding investigations.
The human remains can be for exhibition in a museum for forensic studies. However, this type of activity must have a permit from the authorities, and they did not have it, so they will find a way to find those responsible for clarifying the situation.