Police board warning over suspicious packages
The Northern Ireland Policing Board warned its members to be vigilant today after packages containing suspicious white powder were intercepted by Royal Mail staff.
A total of eight packages, addressed to members of the Policing Board and one to the Police Ombudsman, were intercepted at sorting offices at Mallusk, Co Antrim, and Coleraine, Co Derry.
Seven of them were discovered at the central sorting office at Mallusk and one in Coleraine.
The items are being examined by police forensic experts but they are not thought to pose any credible risk to the public.
A Policing Board spokeswoman confirmed that at least one of the parcels was sent to its headquarters in Belfast.
She said: “We have been informing members to be vigilant about any mail as a precautionary measure but we have been advised that they are hoaxes.”
A Police Ombudsman spokesman said: “We are aware of the packages. The police are keeping us informed of the situation.”
Last month, staff at the Policing Board had to be evacuated after a package containing white powder was sent to the office.
Police and emergency services were sent to deal with the incident and the package was taken away for forensic examination. It was also found to be a hoax.
Members of the Policing Board and District Policing Partnerships (DPPs) have been subjected to a campaign of intimidation by dissident republicans opposed to the new policing arrangements.
