Danish consular officials report suspicious parcel

A Defence Force bomb squad has been called to a downtown Auckland building, after Danish trade officials reported today that they had received a suspicious package.

Inspector Barry Smalley, from the police northern communications centre, said a specialist police search team and an explosives detection dog were also being sent to the building in Quay St.

"There's a package that's arrived in the mail that they are not happy with," he said.

"We are following normal procedures for any suspicious package. In light of recent developments in the media, we are considering it as a potential risk."

Denmark's consulate in Beirut was torched at the weekend during a protest over Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad, while there have been similar attacks on Danish and Norwegian missions in Damascus.

In New Zealand, the decision of three newspapers to reprint the cartoons has ignited debate over freedom of speech.

Mr Smalley said the Danish trade office in Auckland initially advised authorities in Wellington about the package.

"They notified us and we responded accordingly."

He said streets around the building had not been closed off, as the threat was not yet considered of that level.

It was a case waiting for the bomb squad and specialist search group to assess the nature of the package.

- NZPA