France to Protest U.S. Detention of Envoy for Cocaine Check
PARIS — France said today that it is protesting to the United States over the “unacceptable” behavior of customs agents in Miami who detained for nine hours a French diplomat whom they suspected of carrying cocaine, the Foreign Ministry said.
The agents held the diplomat Tuesday at Miami International Airport after a check by sniffer dogs and X-rays led them to believe that his diplomatic pouch contained cocaine, the ministry said in a statement.
The envoy arrived on an American Airlines flight from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and was transferring to a flight for Kingston, Jamaica, when drugs were suspected, customs spokesman Michael Sheehan said.
The spokesman said that the diplomat permitted a customs agent to X-ray the bag but that no drugs were found.
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