Copenhagen - A Danish newspaper cartoonist who was a central figure in the Prophet Mohammed cartoon controversy was Friday whisked from his home after a suspicious parcel was found on the doorstep.

Bomb experts were dispatched to Kurt Westergaard's home in Arhus, eastern Jutland. Several nearby houses were also evacauted as a precaution, police said.

Westergaard's controversial cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed with a bomb in his turban was one of 12 images published in September 2005 by the Jyllands-Posten newspaper. The cartoons sparked violent protests in several countries 2006.

Westergaard has received several threats since then and is under police protection.

Earlier this week the US Justice Department said two people had been arrested and charged in a plot to attack the Jyllands-Posten building and employees. (dpa)