Suspicious packages sent to nearly 20 Australian consulates and embassies

At least a dozen consulates and seven foreign embassies in Australia have received suspicious packages, CNN reported Wednesday.

The consulates for the U.S., U.K, Croatia, New Zealand, and Switzerland in Melbourne were all reportedly sent suspicious items. Packages were also delivered to unspecified consulate offices in the capital city of Canberra. It is not known which Canberra offices were targeted, The Guardian reports.

Some packages contained what appeared to be concrete, and workers were seen carrying large bags with the words "Danger Asbestos" labeled on them, reports BBC. Peter Erb, the husband of Switzerland's honorary consul Manuela Erb, confirmed to BBC that the Swiss consulate received a small envelope labeled "asbestos."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Joseph Petrić, Croatia's consul general in Melbourne, told CNN that the consulate received a package containing three little packets. Authorities packaged the items and took them away but did not evacuate the consulate.

Emergency services in Australia are investigating the packages, with one law enforcement official telling CNN that the items "are not believed to pose an actual threat."