SYDNEY, Australia – Australian police have arrested a man after 38 suspicious packages containing a possibly hazardous substance were sent to foreign consulates in the Australian cities of Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney.
Police say a 48-year-old man was arrested at his home in Shepparton, Victoria state, on Wednesday night, and charged with sending dangerous articles to be carried by a postal service.
READ MORE: Suspicious packages sent to as many as 14 diplomatic missions in Australia
The arrest came after around 10 diplomatic missions, mostly in Melbourne, on Wednesday reported the delivery of suspicious packages, some of them labelled “asbestos.”
The missions included those from the United States, Britain, India, South Korea, Pakistan, Israel, Switzerland and Greece.
Australian Federal Police and Victoria Police said in a joint statement that the man would appear in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday.