A man faced court today after he was located with explosives in Wollongong yesterday.
About 4pm (Thursday 23 August 2019), officers attached to the Wollongong Police Transport Command spoke with a man travelling between Port Kembla and Wollongong in relation to travelling without a valid rail pass.
Following inquiries, police determined that the 35-year-old man was currently wanted for breaching bail.
He was arrested and taken from the train at the Wollongong railway station.
Upon searching the man, officers located a container with an explosive label and a fuse protruding in the bag the man was carrying. They also located a small quantity of methylamphetamine.
Police established an exclusion zone around the bag and the Police Rescue Squad attended to examine the container. A number of railway detonators were found, and the device was rendered inoperable.
The device and methylamphetamine was seized and removed from the location by police.
The 35-year-old was taken to Wollongong Police Station. He was charged with possess explosive in a public place, possess prohibited drug and travel without a valid ticket.
He was refused bail to appear at Wollongong Local Court today (Friday 23 August 2019).
Further investigations were conducted in consultation with the Counter Terrorism Command and police concluded that this is not being treated as a terrorism related offence.
Police remind the public not to misuse or tamper with railway detonators and it is an offence to be in possession of railway detonators. They may cause serious injury to the person holding them or others.
