THE Australian Federal Police sparked a bomb alert after forgetting all about plastic explosive it had planted in a suitcase during a training exercise at Sydney Airport.

The crime-fighting body that protects the nation’s borders had hidden the 230g of explosive in an unclaimed suitcase but left it behind when it was not picked out by sniffer dogs as part of a routine exercise.

It was discovered on Tuesday afternoon when a woman travelling through the airport was given the suitcase to replace her own, which had been damaged during her flight.

She got home to Cessnock before discovering what had been hidden in it.

When she took the case to the local police station, officers evacuated the building.

media_camera ‘This type of training is essential for our canine teams... the travelling public was not in danger at any time,’ said an embarrassed AFP chief.

“The device was not live,” the AFP said in a statement today.

“Officers temporarily evacuated the building as a safety precaution.”

The canine handler who left the plastic explosive behind is now headed for the, er, doghouse.

“The AFP takes this error seriously and the canine instructor who inadvertently left this device behind has been identified and will be the subject of a formal Professional Standards Investigation,” AFP Sydney Airport Commander Wayne Buchhorn said.

“Although the travelling public was not in danger at any time, we regularly review our processes in this area, and we will do again in the light of this incident.

“This type of training is essential for our canine teams, allowing the dogs to experience potential threats in a real environment.

“On behalf of the AFP, I would like to thank the woman, her family and New South Wales Police, especially officers at Cessnock Police Station, for their assistance in this matter.”