Suspicious Package With 'White Powder' Found At Postal Sorting Office

A suspicious package found at a postal sorting office in Newtownabbey, County Antrim, has been ruled safe following an earlier operation.

White powder was discovered in an item at the sorting centre in Mallusk on the morning of Wednesday 28 November.

Police and the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) attended the scene on Enterprise Way.

A PSNI spokesperson said: "The powder was checked by NIFRS and found to be a non-hazardous substance."

Earlier on Wednesday a Royal Mail spokesperson said the item was found at the National Returns Centre (NRC), the facility where Royal Mail staff have the authority to open mail, to try and return all unclaimed items to their sender.

"The safety of our people is the utmost priority and in line with our policy and procedures, the emergency services attended the area where the powder was found and cordoned off.

"We are assisting with their investigation. There is no impact on the operation of the mail centre and the processing of mail."

The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service was also tasked to the scene, after receiving a call at 10.22am. Two members of the Hazardous Area Response Team and one Rapid Response Paramedic were sent to assist in dealing with the incident.





(JG/CM)