Public warned not to handle homemade explosive devices after one turned in

CHILLIWACK, B.C. – Mounties in Chilliwack have issued a warning about potentially dangerous homemade explosive devices called crickets after a citizen found one at an intersection and turned it over to police.

Cpl. Len vanNieuwenhuizen says it’s fortunate the device was not brought into the detachment because it may have been filled with volatile substances and moving it could have caused severe injury or damage.

He says the device was safely disposed of by the force’s explosive disposal unit.

RCMP say the device that measures about 20 centimetres long and about 10 millimetres in diameter is made of a brass Luger shell casing that appears to have been soldered at one end, which included the remains of a fuse.

The public is being advised not to handle so-called crickets but to contact police to assess the situation.

Police say so-called crickets are commonly made of carbon dioxide cartridges.