Ex-policeman held for questioning after Air France bomb hoax

A retired French police officer travelling on an Air France flight was detained after a fake bomb hidden in a lavatory forced his Paris-bound flight to make an emergency landing in Kenya, according to prosecutors.

The hoax — the fourth against Air France in recent weeks — comes amid heightened concerns about extremist violence in many countries, and aggravated passenger jitters around the holidays.

The man in custody is a former police officer detained upon arrival at Charles de Gaulle Airport, according to an official in the prosecutor’s office in the Paris suburb of Bobigny.

The official did not release the suspect’s name or information about what he is suspected of.

It’s not clear whether the suspect had also been questioned in Kenya.

A Kenyan police official said six passengers were questioned on Sunday, including the person who informed the crew about the device.

On Sunday, the Air France flight made an emergency landing in Kenya, after the discovery of the fake explosive rigged with cardboard, sheets of paper, and a household timer.

All 459 passengers and 14 crew members on the flight, from the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius to Paris, were safely evacuated.