A suspicious package intercepted at an airport in Namibia was a dummy used to test security, according to German officials.
Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said officials had established that it was a so-called "real-test suitcase".
He said no explosives were discovered in the case, which was found near luggage about to be loaded on to a Munich-bound flight, the BBC reports.
It is not known who left the case at Windhoek airport in the capital on Wednesday, triggering an international alarm.
Namibian police said they would deal "severely" with anyone involved.
The US, German and Nambian governments were not aware of the package.
The incident came just hours after Germany had raised its terrorist threat level, saying it had received a tip-off from an unspecified country about a suspected attack planned for the end of November.
Mr de Maiziere told a news conference on Friday experts from the German federal police had flown to Windhoek to examine the suitcase.