Suspicious envelope
jams up Capitol area

An investigation snarls rush-hour
traffic on Punchbowl Street

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By Leila Fujimori
lfujimori@starbulletin.com

Police closed a section of Punchbowl Street yesterday, causing a major traffic tie-up during the afternoon rush hour, after a state employee placed a suspicious envelope on a stone wall along the sidewalk of a state office building.

An employee of the state Department of Accounting and General Services at the Kalanimoku Building received the envelope, became suspicious and called 911 because of the wording and the way it was lettered, said fire Capt. Richard Soo.

The package had arrived by mail about 8:30 a.m. yesterday.

The employee brought it to the attention of the comp-troller.

An employee from the comptroller's office placed it on the wall in front of the building at 1151 Punchbowl St., Soo said. The fire department was then notified at 2:15 p.m., Soo said.

Police shut Punchbowl down between South Beretania and South King streets next to the state Capitol, but no buildings were evacuated.

Police said the envelope had not been opened or thoroughly inspected until about 2 p.m., when an employee noted the return address was made up of letters cut from various periodicals to state "Nation of Islam," police said.

The envelope was treated as a suspicious package. Police Special Services Division, Honolulu Fire Department's Hazardous Materials team, the U.S. Postal Service, the state Health Department and the FBI responded.

"With the anniversary of 9/11, the public's awareness is being heightened," Soo said.

Gary Gill, state deputy director of environmental health, said he saw the name Mohammed on the UPS envelope.

HPD's bomb squad arrived and removed the package from the wall using a robot, Soo said.

Police took X-rays of the package, and no explosive device was found.

HFD hazardous specialists in protective suits tested the envelope for radioactivity, which turned out negative, Soo said.

The package, which had remained unopened, was then handed to the state Department of Health Hazard Evaluation and Emergency Response Office, which took the envelope to its Pearl City laboratory for further testing.