FBI agents board Russian plane

Agents were advised to question a passenger

US federal officers in New York have met a flight arriving from Moscow after a warning about one of its passengers and reports that some radioactive material was on board.

One man has been detained for questioning but the claims were a false alarm and the case appears to be about smuggling and not related to terrorism.

The plane was diverted to an empty area away from passenger terminals

The Aeroflot plane was sent to an empty area of John F Kennedy Airport after it landed at around 1400 local time (1800 GMT) and was searched but no radioactive material was found on board or in the cargo or luggage.

"It turns out it was a box full of furs," Transportation Security Administration spokesman Robert Johnson said.

Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), customs officials and Port Authority police met the scheduled flight and the 176 passengers were taken off the plane in small groups.

An unnamed law enforcement official told the Associated Press news agency: "They had advance information of possible radioactive materials for us to be looking at this flight."

An FBI spokesman said: "Based on information provided to us, we and the customs service and the Port Authority have an interest in interviewing one of the passengers."

There were no reports of injuries among the passengers and crew on the plane.