Suspicious bag destroyed - Hamilton - Waikato

At approximately 2.45pm on 5 June 2015 Hamilton Police were alerted to a suspicious bag left in the public foyer of the IRD building.

Initial enquiries failed to locate or identify the owner of the bag, therefore police took the precautionary approach and treated it as a potentially dangerous item.

Staff were evacuated from the building and from adjoining buildings on the corner of Victoria and Bryce Street.

A request was made to the Defence Force for assistance from a Bomb Disposal unit.

Regrettably the public were inconvenienced with cordons put in place at a distance around the IRD building, which impeded pedestrian and vehicle traffic for some hours.

“We are grateful to the public for their cooperation as we took the necessary steps to ensure any possible risk was kept to a minimum.” At approximately 7.30pm Bomb Disposal personnel destroyed the bag using their robot.

The noise of this blast may have alarmed some people.

The remainder of the bag and contents will be thoroughly examined to help ascertain who placed the bag in the building.

Police are satisfied that there was no explosive material in the bag.

All cordons have been lifted and Police will be examining CCTV footage of the area.

You can also view this release, including any additional images, online at: http://www.police.govt.nz/news/updates/37576

ENDS

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