Police investigate origins of suspicious briefcase

Police will today resume their investigations into an abandoned briefcase which sparked a bomb scare at Tauranga Police Station yesterday.

The station and several neighbouring properties were evacuated at 4.45pm when a member of the public brought a suspicious-looking briefcase into the station after finding it at his home.

The operation ended when the Auckland Bomb Squad blew the briefcase up about 7.30pm.

Senior Sergeant Wayne Mills said an investigation into the briefcase was under way.

"The team will be trying to establish the origin of the briefcase, and hopefully find out some more things from there," he said.

Eight prisoners at the station were relocated to Mount Maunganui station and streets around the police station were cordoned off during the operation.

Police were not prepared to say what the briefcase contained other than it was not explosive material.

- NZPA