Police cordoned off several blocks around the offices of the state commission that reviews immigration appeals (Utlendingsnemnda, UNE) in Oslo on Tuesday, after suspicions rose around a package that had been sent to UNE.
Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) reported that the package caught the attention of security personnel, and UNE’s building in Stenersgata, close to the Oslo Spektrum Arena, was evacuated. VG Nett reported that the package contained a clock, mobile telephones and cables.
“We received a call from UNE that they had a package that raised concerns after it was sent through an X-ray machine,” Ola Krokan, operations leader of the Oslo Police District, told NRK. UNE’s call to the police was described as “routine,” and the police also found the pictures of the package “interesting.”
“We wanted to examine the package more closely,” Krokan told NRK. “We suspected the package has some contents that aren’t desirable.”
He declined to go into further detail, but the building was evacuated and barriers set up in a radius of 100 meters. The police bomb squad was called in because the package contained “some elements that can, and I stress can, be described as a bomb.”
Police later called off the operation, posting a notice on their Twitter social media site at 3:45pm that the area had been reopened and situation was “normal.” Krokan told VG that police know who sent the package, and an investigation was underway.
newsinenglish.no staff
