A live grenade was carried on the body of a dead Kiwi soldier from Afghanistan to Christchurch without Defence Force officials knowing.
The fist-sized, high-explosive grenade was discovered during the autopsies on three New Zealand soldiers killed by an improvised explosive device in Bamiyan Province on August 19, 2012.
It was not known which body the weapon was carried on.
A court of inquiry found that Corporal Luke Tamatea, Lance Corporal Jacinda Baker and Private Richard Harris' bodies were searched by New Zealand and American officials after their deaths. But a more extensive search was not carried out because of a Defence Force policy that remains should not be disturbed before a post-mortem.
The inquiry recommended that the Defence Force review its mortuary training. It also said that bodies should be x-rayed before they were transported.
