UPDATE: No charges for two people arrested in Saskatoon suspicious package cases
Three people are in custody after Saskatoon police responded to five suspicious package calls Tuesday afternoon involving envelopes containing an unknown substance.
Emergency services and members of the Hazmat unit were called to a restaurant in the 400-block of 21st Street East at 12:23 p.m.
Over the next two hours, they responded to calls at a business in the 400-block of 22nd Street East, a hotel in the 300-block of Circle Drive West a hotel in the 600-block of Cynthia Street and a business in the 200-block of 4th Avenue South.
Initial testing of the substances determined four of the packages to contain baking soda while the fifth held talcum powder, police said.
Traffic restrictions that were in place for a good portion of Tuesday afternoon have been lifted.
A man and two women are facing charges of public mischief, mischief and uttering threats to cause bodily harm.
Police continue to investigate but believe all people involved are in custody.
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Saskatoon fire Chief Morgan Hackl said the aggressive response emergency crews took was necessary to ensure public safety.
“We have to approach it with diligence, we have to go through all the proper steps,” Hackl said in a statement.
“Whether it’s a malicious call or not, we can’t take that into account – we have to take the due course and take it seriously.”
Over 60 emergency personnel were involved in the operation.
Previously, police had identified a man who may have had information in the investigation. He is between the ages of 40 and 45 and was wearing green camo pants, black or dark-coloured hiking boots, a black hoodie and may have been wearing a ball cap.
During a media scrum earlier, police Insp. Lorne Constantinoff also said there could be more than one person of interest.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Saskatoon police at 306-975-8300 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Joel Senick contributed to this story
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