Police release photo of fake bomb used at Brisbane Airport

AN image of the fake bomb that was seized by police last night following a terrifying lockdown at Brisbane International Airport has been released.

AN image of the fake bomb that was seized by police last night following a terrifying lockdown at Brisbane International Airport has been released.

The device was a black box featuring a second orange box protruding from it.

Red wires can also be seen on it.

Police released the image today, Commissioner Ian Stewart said, to “show you what our officers faced and to reinforce that was don’t shut down an international airport lightly”.

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Police have released an image of the fake bomb found during the Brisbane Airport lockdown. Picture: Supplied

“Police were faced with a dynamic and very real situation that was initially absolutely life-threatening,” he said.

“We’ve taken the unusual step of showing the device that the alleged offender had on him at Brisbane Airport last night.

“I think this photo (of the fake bomb) clearly indicate the extraordinary lengths that a person has gone to to create a perception of risk, threat and fear.”

The man was alleged to have threatened a woman with a knife and claimed to have a bomb.

Assistant Commissioner Peter Crawford said the incident was “terrifying” for all involved and said the man’s alleged threats seemed very real.

“The words and behaviours of the alleged offender gave police cause to need to check a number of locations on the Gold Coast for improvised explosive devices. Nothing explosive was located,” he said.

“I have absolutely no doubt that it was an absolutely terrifying experience for those that saw that.”

Police interviewed the man last night but suffered a health issue midway through.

He was taken to hospital and the charges were laid at a bedside hearing.

Police remove evidence from Brisbane International Airport. Picture: AAP/Sarah Marshall

Police will wait until he recovers before determining with the court when he will first appear.

An internal Queensland police “debrief” will occur in the wake of the incident as well as a debrief with the airport and other partner agencies to determine what, if anything, could be done better in future.

The alleged offender was known to police prior to last night’s incident and is of Middle Eastern descent.

His primary language is Arabic.

An apartment block on the Gold Coast was also searched last night.

“The words that had been used by the alleged offender in this matter, his behaviour and the statements that he’s made caused us to need to look at a number of vehicles and residences to ensure there were no IED (improvised explosive devices) or anything of concern,” Assistant Commissioner Crawford said.

“The Gold Coast addresses and the vehicles we searched were all relating to information we had at the time.”

Originally published as Police release photo of fake bomb used at Brisbane Airport