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Human limbs found at a rental property in Christchurch at the weekend sparked a police investigation.
But it wasn't a homicide, and inquiries found there was nothing sinister about the items.
Police were told of the find about 3pm on Saturday when they received a call from a man who was viewing an address to rent in the Waltham area.
While inspecting the property he found a plastic container, which contained a lower left leg with the foot attached and a right foot.
"Initially this was dealt with as a crime scene but after expert opinion that the limbs had been surgically removed, police dealt with this as an inquiry of a more general nature as to ownership of the limbs and the circumstances around that," Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Johnson said.
"Inquiries have identified the owner of the limbs and nothing sinister has occurred in relation to them."
Mr Johnson said several inquiries were continuing to confirm the situation as described.
"This was a particularly unusual set of circumstances which we dealt with seriously until inquiries identified the owner of the limbs and the circumstances proved to be not of a criminal nature," he said.
- NZPA
