Suspected smoke bomb temporarily closes tunnel

Two Michigan men remain in custody Tuesday night after they attempted to enter the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel with a bag that contained what appears to be a commercial grade smoke bomb or smoke grenade, temporarily causing the tunnel to be shut down.

Both directions of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel were temporarily shut down due to the suspicious package.

The Windsor Police Department tweeted that the tunnel was re-opened at about 8:54 p.m.

According to a news release from the Windsor Police, a vehicle heading into Canada around 5 p.m. was directed to go to a secondary inspection by the Canadian Border Services Agency.

During the secondary inspection, a bag was discovered to contain a suspicious device, prompting officials from CBSA to close the tunnel and notify Windsor Police.

All CBSA staff were evacuated from the area and the two men were transported to Windsor Police Headquarters.

The Windsor Police Explosives Disposal Unit was called in to investigate the package and deployed a robot with an onboard camera to get close to the package safely.

The camera revealed that the bag contained an unmarked cardboard cylinder with a fuse attached, which officials believe is "consistent in structure as being a commercial grade smoke bomb or smoke grenade," according to the release, which states those types of devices emit a thick cloud of smoke when ignited.

Officers also located brass knuckles, a switchblade knife, and a butterfly knife inside the vehicle.

The EDU unit has taken custody of the device and are "in the process of making it safe."

The Windsor Police Major Crimes Branch is continuing with the investigation at this time.

Detroit Police Cmdr. Elvin Barren said the tunnel was shut down around 6 p.m. by Windsor Police.

Contact Katrease Stafford: Kstafford@freepress.com or 313-223-4759. Follow her on Twitter @KatreaseS_Freep.