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A stolen truck that was reported to contain drugs and a suspected explosive device in Van Nuys Monday prompted the evacuation of a shopping center and surrounding neighborhood, authorities said.

Officer found a stolen truck with a suspicious package inside just before 11 a.m. near the intersection of Sepulveda Boulevard and Sherman Way, Los Angeles Police Department Officer Liliana Preciado said.

The all-clear was declared by about 3 p.m., another LAPD spokesperson said. Traffic was expected to remain impacted for some time afterward.

Police responded to the truck in the 15200 block of Vose Street (map), a residential street near commercial areas. A white pickup truck parked in that area appeared to hold red plastic gas canisters in the bed, aerial video showed.

The area was evacuated, including a shopping center with a Jons grocery store, Preciado said.

Traffic appeared to have been stopped at Sepulveda Boulevard, though Sherman Way was running unimpeded, aerial video showed.

On scene, Supervisor Alan Kreitzman with LAPD's Van Nuys Division said that officers had responded after the Department of Transportation reported the finding of the stolen vehicle. Inside the vehicle, DOT workers found drugs and called police.

When officers arrived, they found what appeared to be an explosive device in the back of the pickup truck, Kreitzman said. The area needed to be cleared until the device could be rendered safe or proved to be harmless, he said.

On Monday, an LAPD bomb squad had rendered a suspicious device safe after it was found in a vehicle in the 5000 block of Van Nuys Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, about 3 1/2 miles from Tuesday's scene.

KTLA's Jennifer Thang contributed to this article.