One of the bomb squad members and police constable Shane Francis walked down the driveway to assess the grenade, which had been moved from underneath the house and placed in a garden at the front of the property.
About five minutes later, the two men walked back up the driveway. The bomb squad expert held the grenade in his hand.
The grenade, thought to be from World War II, was placed into a woven sack, put into a red, metal box and placed in the back of the bomb squad's 4WD.
A member of the bomb squad, who spoke to the Bay of Plenty Times on the condition of anonymity, said the grenade was inert.
"I can confirm it is a grenade or a fragment of a grenade. It's inert and there's no detonator and it's without the fly-over lever."
Additional reporting APNZ
