A 49-year-old man has appeared at Melbourne Magistrates' Court over suspicious packages sent to consulates in Melbourne and Canberra.

Savas Avan was remanded in custody and will appear again in court on 4 March.

The British consulate in Melbourne was one of 38 to be sent parcels on Wednesday. Tests are continuing to find out what they contained, but police say there is no ongoing threat to the public.

In a statement the Australian Federal Police said: "The man was arrested at his home last night and was charged with sending dangerous articles to be carried by a postal service, contrary to section 471 of the Criminal Code Act 1995."

Apart from the UK consulate, parcels were delivered to consulates and embassies of the United States, Germany, India, New Zealand, Korea, Greece, Egypt and Switzerland in Melbourne.


Consulates in the Australian capital of Canberra also received the packages, police said.

A number of buildings were temporarily evacuated in Melbourne.