False bomb threat at Asunción Public Prosecutor's Office: evacuation and search yields no findings
An anonymous male voice call alerted authorities to an alleged explosive device at the Public Prosecutor's Office for District I in Asunción. Experts and sniffer dogs searched the building without finding anything.
Anonymous call triggers explosives protocol at fiscal headquarters in city centre
An anonymous telephone communication mobilised security personnel on Thursday at the headquarters of the Public Prosecutor's Office for District I in Asunción, after an unidentified man warned of the alleged presence of an explosive device in the building. According to a report by abc.com.py, the search concluded without any findings.
The incident took place around 12:30, when the call came in to the institutional call centre. The affected building is located on Nuestra Señora de la Asunción street near Eduardo Víctor Haedo, in the heart of Asunción.
"He called initially wanting to speak with a person within the Public Prosecutor's Office and subsequently indicated that an explosive device was located in a part of the building," detailed Principal Commissioner Germán Chena, head of the Third Metropolitan Police Station.
Following the warning, security personnel immediately proceeded to evacuate the building as a precautionary measure. Subsequently, tactical unit personnel and members of the explosives brigade deployed a search protocol that covered every sector of the perimeter, including areas adjacent to the main building.
Upon conclusion of the procedures, Chena confirmed that the inspection yielded no alarming results. "Practically nothing was found that could warrant attention and endanger the building and, above all, the physical integrity of people," the commissioner said, and also highlighted the intervention of a dog specialised in locating explosive devices.
With normality restored to the location, authorities immediately opened proceedings to identify those responsible for the false alarm, which interrupted activities at the fiscal headquarters and generated alarm in the area.
The National Police confirmed that the voice making the call was male. "The voice that raised the alert regarding alleged explosive devices was male," Chena specified. The investigation was left in the hands of the Public Prosecutor's Office itself, which will need to trace the telephone number used to make the communication.
"I imagine that the Public Prosecutor's Office will conduct the relevant inquiries regarding the telephone number that was used, bearing in mind that the call came in directly to the call centre," the uniformed official indicated. Chena added that, regardless of whether it was a fixed line or mobile phone, technical investigations would allow identification of the line holder.
Source: Google News PY — Asunción