18 heads found at airport were sent for cremation

CHICAGO - The Associated Press

Hürriyet photo

A shipment of 18 human heads held up by customs officials at Chicago O'Hare International Airport in USA, was bound for a cremation service in the Chicago area after its use in medical research abroad, The Associated Press has reported.

A spokeswoman for the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office, Mary Paleologos, said Tuesday that the heads were originally sent from Illinois to Italy for medical research and were returned to the area for disposal as part of the agreement.

She says a paperwork problem held up the shipment, which arrived at O'Hare in mid-December.

The containers were being stored at the Cook County morgue while authorities investigated the matter.

Paleologos says the heads will be turned over for cremation.