Man charged after 38 suspicious packages sent to consulates and embassies

A Victorian man has been charged after dozens of suspicious packages were sent to consulates and embassies in Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra.

Victoria Police and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) arrested the 48-year-old man at his home in Shepparton in northern Victoria last night.He has been charged with sending dangerous articles to be carried by a postal service.Investigators will allege in court that the man sent 38 parcels containing a substance that they believe was “sourced from his Shepparton home”, to consulates and embassies in the three cities.Police said they had recovered 29 of the packages and planned to have them forensically tested.

Victoria Police said on Wednesday that “a number” of consulate offices had received suspicious packages.The US, Pakistani, New Zealand and Swiss consulates confirmed to the ABC they had received suspicious parcels in the mail.Emergency services workers were also seen going into the Greek, French, Italian, Spanish and South Korean consulates.

“There is no ongoing threat to the general public,” both police forces said in a joint statement.”Police have identified all intended recipients and have put processes in place to recover the outstanding packages.”The assistance of [Australia Post] has been crucial to the outcome of this investigation.”

The man will appear before the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court this morning.If convicted of the charge laid against him, he could face up to 10 years in prison..abc.