New Lynn pipe bomb taken home by metal-detecting locals

The New Lynn local who found a pipe bomb in a nearby park while metal-detecting said he took the device home and put it on the kitchen table before noticing a fuse.

Occupational therapist Cameron Casey, 37, was metal-detecting with his dad Barry Casey in Lawson Park when his detector showed a “large target” buried 13cm under a tree on Tuesday.

Barry Casey (left) and his son Cameron Casey (right) were metal detecting in New Lynn when they found a home made pipe bomb.

“I was sort of expecting a can or something and I dug it up, I thought it was a crushed pipe, I find lots of crushed pipes,” Casey said.

“So I just put it in my bag and then when I got home, I sort of just put it out on the table and then I noticed the fuse and ‘I thought, oh, gosh, what have we got here?’”

He found the bomb at 10.30pm and put the bomb in the middle of the garden before calling the police non-emergency line the next day.

Casey feared if the bomb had ended up in the wrong hands it could have been “fatal”.

“It was very late at night and it was in a safe place in the garden,” Casey said about keeping the explosive overnight.

“So I was away from everybody and it was and because it had a fuse you have to light it to have it explode.”

Casey said it had gotten into the wrong hands it would have been “nasty” and “could have been fatal”.

The two men brought the home made pipe bomb home and left it in the garden overnight.

When police arrived at his home the next day, he said they were “happy he had reported it” so it was “no longer floating around public domain”.

An NZDF spokesperson said an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) team responded to a request for assistance from police after a member of the public had discovered a possible improvised explosive device whilst metal detecting.

“The NZDF EOD team assessed the item to be a metal pipe bomb which was rendered safe and disposed of in a safe manner,” the spokesperson said.

“Anyone who discovers a potentially dangerous item should always exercise caution until the item is deemed safe by an expert. If you do discover something that might be dangerous, remain clear of the item and contact New Zealand Police as soon as possible.”

Casey said this was the most interesting thing he had found during his three years of metal detecting.

Other treasures he has uncovered include a perfectly preserved wallet from 1946 complete with the shopping list and bus ticket, many shillings and other older coins.

“Mostly it’s mountains of bottle tops, cans and a lot of vapes,” Casey said.

Rachel Maher is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. She has worked for the Herald since 2022.