A tense, cryptic situation in the south-central city of Jyväskylä was resolved safely on Monday afternoon. Authorities had cordoned off a street in the city centre due to an explosive outside the main police headquarters.
Police said it appeared to be a military explosive, and that they had asked the Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) for help in disarming the device. Authorities asked the public to avoid the area on Urhonkatu and to stay away from the windows of nearby buildings. For several hours, it was unclear how the object ended up in front of the police station.
WW2 smoke grenade proves harmless
A FDF special forces unit wearing heavy protective gear arrived to remove the device. They declared that it was a World War Two-era smoke grenade – and harmless.
Police later explained that the grenade had been brought to the station by a member of the public who had an appointment to hand over some old cartridges – and had brought the grenade along as well without informing them in advance. An officer had then taken the object outside and cordoned off the area.
They say no criminal intent is suspected but stress that no-one should carry such explosives around. If suspected explosives are found in Finland, they should be reported via the emergency phone number, 112.
A similar incident occurred at the same building about a year ago.
Officials add that there are still plenty of weapons and other military materiel around the country that were brought home as souvenirs from Finland’s two wars with the Soviet Union between 1939 and 1945. Most were rendered harmless by removing fuses or explosives – but some may still be dangerous. Some are found by surprise when cleaning out or renovating old buildings.