French police thought they'd come up with a novel way to train their airport bomb-sniffing canines. All they'd have to do is plant explosives in the baggage of unwitting travellers, then let the dogs sniff the explosives out. It may seem an idea of pure genius when seen in writing, but when one explosive-laden bag slipped past the dogs, suddenly the plan seemed kinda stupid.

French police spokesman Pierre Bouquin said police lost track of the unknown passenger's luggage as it passed through a restricted area on a conveyor belt. Police alerted airlines to the fact that one of their passengers might be packing five ounces of explosives, but the explosives remain unrecovered.

While police insist the explosives posed no immediate danger, French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin wasn't so dismissive. Two officers were disciplined, and the practice of finding dupes to plant explosives on has been eliminated.

» Scott Saxon