Penang police finds grenades, ammunition in empty shophouse

GEORGE TOWN: Police seized three hand grenades, 76 live bullets and four magazines behind at an empty shophouse in Jalan Tun Dr Awang here on Monday.
Northeast district police chief ACP Mior Faridalatrash Wahid said an air-conditioner repairman made the shocking discovery when he was repairing a compressor unit near there.
He said the 65-year-old immediately alerted the authorities who rushed to the scene in the 9pm incident.
The weapons were found hidden in the gap behind the compressor unit and the wall of the shophouse building, he added.
He said checks showed the grenades were still usable while the bullets were for use in M16 rifles.
"Police are now trying to ascertain what these weapons are for," he told a press conference today.
Mior said initial investigations revealed the shophouse used to be hair salon but it had stopped operations about two weeks ago.
He ruled out the possibility that the weapons were for use for terrorist activities but stressed all angles would be probed under the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971.