Bomb threat copycat callers now the concern

BRISBANE - Copycat callers are now the major concern after hoax bomb threats caused the shutdown of Brisbane's public transport, Queensland Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson says.

Three telephone threats from suburban phone boxes brought public transport in the Brisbane area to a shuddering halt twice yesterday, causing chaos for thousands of commuters.

"It's well established that there can be copycats, but we'll deal with those matters on their merits at the time," Mr Atkinson said.

All bus and train services in Brisbane were suspended and passengers evacuated from stations between 4.45pm and 5.15pm (7.45pm and 8.15pm NZT) in what Queensland Premier Peter Beattie called an "over-cautious" approach to the anonymous calls.

Bus, train and ferry services earlier were also stopped for more than 90 minutes from midday (2pm NZT) as a precaution after police received the first threatening call.

Mr Atkinson said the hoax caller faced "up to 10 years in jail" if found.

He said police had worked throughout the night to identify who made the hoax calls.

As a result of the bomb threats, police last night received several calls reporting suspicious packages across Brisbane but all were examined and cleared.

After public transport quickly returned to normal last night, Mr Beattie said authorities had used the shutdown as a timely counter terrorism exercise.

Asked if he had overreacted, Mr Beattie said: "I'd rather look a dill tomorrow than to have made a mistake today".

- AAP