Alexandra Avenue: The 48-year-old man had real hand grenades and threatened to activate them

A state of panic arose earlier at the Police Headquarters on Alexandra Avenue. The 48-year-old Sudanese man, known for drug-related crimes, as was later discovered, attempted to enter the building with a backpack.

When the guard stopped him and asked what he wanted, the man said he wanted to enter the building. When the guard, suspecting him, explained that it was not so simple, the man told him he had explosives on him. The guard immediately called for reinforcements, and the area was cordoned off. The man insisted on wanting a phone and repeatedly held a hand grenade in his hand, sometimes placing it between his legs, while alternating between holding it and wrapping it in insulating tape, which bought valuable time for the police, who realized it was secured with a safety pin. Meanwhile, the man also placed a container at his feet containing two more hand grenades.

According to reports, what the man held in his hands was actually a bottle wrapped in a bag and insulating tape, while the other two hand grenades in the container were real, oxidized, but operational, defensive grenades of Czech origin.

The police managed to distract him with the phone he had requested, pretending they would meet his demand, and then took the opportunity to immobilize him and arrest him. They left the grenades outside and called in the bomb disposal experts from the Special Anti-Terrorist Unit (TEEM), who confirmed that at least two of them were indeed operational defensive grenades. They closed the road again and carried out a controlled explosion. The Sudanese man had with him a release document from prison and was arrested by the Security Police, who are currently interrogating him. From the initial investigation, it seems the man has some personal issues, but thanks to the quick response, especially from the security guard, a disaster was avoided. No one can know how things might have unfolded if the man had succeeded in entering the Police Headquarters with the grenades.

Meanwhile, traffic on Alexandra Avenue was restored after the controlled explosion of the grenades, and cars are moving normally again.