Powder in letter causes panic at bank

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP - A letter from India found at a township bank yesterday with white powder leaking from the envelope caused a hazardous materials response from authorities.

The powder was later found to be a harmless substance with a sugar and sodium base, but the incident is still under investigation, police said.

Township police said the incident began at 11:10 a.m. with a report from the First Washington Bank on Route 130 that the facility had received a mailed envelope visibly leaking powder.

Responding officers found six employees and no customers in the branch and had the ventilation system in the building halted. By phone, police learned that the envelope had been mailed from India, but was not addressed to the bank.

The letter was delivered elsewhere by the Windsor Post Office in the township, police said.

Hamilton and West Windsor hazardous materials teams responded and removed the letter. Officials from the U.S. Postal Inspectors tested the substance at the scene and found it to be a nonhazardous substance, police said.