Bomb defused in carpark
BOMB squad officers dismantled a crude explosive device in the car park of a Queensland shopping centre yesterday that police say could have caused serious injury.
A 37-year-old man and a 31year-old woman have been arrested after a large glass jar containing an explosive liquid and other unspecified “components” were found in a cardboard box inside their car.
The pair had parked a silver sedan – which had false number plates – in the car park of the Redbank Plaza shopping centre at Ipswich, west of Brisbane, yesterday morning, before the centre was open.
Police were called when they were seen acting suspiciously. It’s understood they were caught on security cameras.
Detectives are still trying to unravel the motive after lifting an exclusion zone imposed around the car. But so far there’s nothing to suggest a link to terrorism.
Asked if the couple intended to explode the device in the car park, Senior Sergeant Gar- eth James told reporters: “We do not know. I do not know what gain they could have from exploding it in a car park.
“The shopping centre was not open at the time. We believe they were just parked here, the reason being we do not know.”
He said the device was found in a cardboard box and was “capable of causing serious injury to people”.
“All I can say is it was a fair- ly large glass jar which contained a substance. Not fertiliser (but) there was a liquid in it of an explosive nature.
“It also had a few other components which I won’t go in to.”
He would not say if those components included a detonator.
“I think it’s too early to speculate about what their intentions are. We don’t want to cause panic out there.”