NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Authorities say they found narcotics in an envelope a former U.S. attorney was handing to a jail inmate in a New Orleans courtroom.

The Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office said in a news release Thursday that a courtroom deputy spotted Eddie Jordan handing the envelope to the inmate. The deputy searched the envelope before the inmate could access the contents.

The release said narcotics were found. It did not give details.

Jordan has not been arrested or charged. The release says he is "a suspect" in a sheriff's investigation. He did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment. Jordan was the New Orleans-based U.S. Attorney from 1994-2001. He was elected New Orleans' district attorney in 2002.

He resigned in 2007 amid heavy criticism over his running of the office.