Bomb squad officers have dismantled a crude explosive device in the car park of a Queensland shopping centre that police say could have caused serious injury.

A 37-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman have been charged after a large glass jar containing an explosive liquid and other unspecified “components” were found in a cardboard box inside their car.



The pair had parked their silver sedan in the car park of the Redbank Plaza shopping centre at Ipswich, west of Brisbane, on Monday morning, before the centre was open.

Police were called when witnesses saw them acting suspiciously. It’s understood they were caught on security cameras.

Detectives said they were still trying to unravel the couple’s motive after lifting an exclusion zone imposed around the car. But so far there was nothing to suggest a link to terrorism.

Asked if the couple intended to explode the device in the car park, Senior Sergeant Gareth James told reporters: “We do not know. I do not know what gain they could have from exploding it in a car park.

“The shopping centre was not open at the time. We believe they were just parked here, the reason being we do not know.”

He said the device was found in a cardboard box and was “capable of causing serious injury to people”.

“All I can say is it was a fairly large glass jar which contained a substance. Not fertiliser [but] there was a liquid in it of an explosive nature. It also had a few other components which I won’t go in to.”

He would not say if those components included a detonator.

“It was certainly portable. But I think it’s too early to speculate about what their intentions are. We don’t want to cause panic out there.”

On Monday afternoon the man was charged with offences including two counts of manufacturing an explosive without authority and possessing dangerous goods, while the woman was charged with possessing dangerous goods, among other offences.

They were both due to appear at Ipswich magistrates court on Tuesday.