Suspicious packages sent to consulates and embassies in Australia: who was targeted?

Deliveries of suspicious packages containing white powder have sparked a series of major emergency responses at consulates and embassies in Melbourne and Canberra.

Melbourne’s Metropolitan Fire Brigade said it had been called to “a number of incidents” across the city on Wednesday afternoon, reports the BBC. Regional newspaper The Age says that the South Korean, Indian and New Zealand consulates were all evacuated after receiving packages, while the US foreign diplomatic headquarters was placed in lockdown.

Suspicious packages were also delivered to the British, Spanish, Greek, Taiwanese and Turkish consulates, the paper adds.

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According to unconfirmed reports, packages could have been sent to up to 22 locations - including the Italian, Thai, Swiss and Egyptian embassies - across Melbourne and in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), the region including and surrounding Australian capital Canberra. The affected embassies in the ACT have not been identified.

The deliveries sparked an emergency “hazardous material” response, and specialist firefighters were seen carrying large bags emblazoned with the words “danger asbestos” as they left the South Korean and Indian consulates, The Guardian reports.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) tweeted that the packages “are being examined by attending emergency services” and that “the circumstances are being investigated”.

Victoria Police issued a separate statement saying that it was aware of “a number of consulate offices in Melbourne today receiving suspicious packages”.

“At this time we believe the matter is targeted and not impacting the general community,” the statement continued.

The Brisbane Times reports that initial suspicions over the packages were raised by the misspelling of “consulate” on an envelope delivered to the Pakistani consulate in Melbourne on Wednesday morning.