Soup powder sparks postal alert

Posting powdered foodstuffs overseas is not the smartest thing to do in the present climate of international terrorism, police warned yesterday.

They were called to a Greenlane post office after white powder was seen leaking from a mail bag.

The powder was found to be soup mix from a food parcel posted overseas.

Senior Sergeant Sharon Stephens said it was "not a good time to be posting such things" in the mail from overseas.

Police and postal authorities have been on alert for suspicious parcels after deadly anthrax spores were sent through the mail in the United States last year.

- NZPA