PROFESSOR DIES WHEN BALLOONS OF COCAINE BURST INSIDE HIM

DETROIT -- (Associated Press) A Wayne State University law professor
de-scribed as a brilliant scholar died in Canada, where doctors surgically
removed a dozen co-caine-filled balloons from his body after he became ill
on a trans-Atlantic flight, authorities said.

Gennady Danilenko, 45, died Wednesday in Newfoundland. He was on Northwest
Airlines Flight 47 from Amsterdam to Detroit on Sunday when he fell ill in
what initially appeared to be a heart attack.

The flight was diverted to Goose Bay, Newfoundland where doctors performed
emergency surgery and found the drugs. The substance was confirmed to be
cocaine, Drug Enforcement Administration spokeswoman Susan Feld said.

The death was ruled an accidental drug overdose, said Cpl. Trudy McCabe of
the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Labrador, Newfoundland. There was.
evidence that some of the balloons had burst in his stom-ach, she said. The
body will be turned over to Danilenko's fam-ily soon, she said.

DEA agents searched Danilenko's home in Ann Arbor on Thursday and found
nothing significant, Feld said.

"It's kind of bizarre that a per-son with his degrees and his sta-tus would
be smuggling like this," Feld said. "We searched his home and didn't find
any records or anything we could use." The case could be closed if no one
comes forward, she said.

FBI agents in Detroit were be-ginning an investigation.

Joan Mahoney dean of the Wayne State law school, said she was surprised by
the reports that Danilenko may have been smuggling drugs.

"He's a law professor, and a very reputable law professor, who's an
excellent teacher and a brilliant scholar," she said.

Danilenko had taught his scheduled classes last week, Mahoney said. No one
accom-panied him in Canada, McCabe said.