Australian recluse rigged his home with 50 fake bombs

A Sydney man fortified his home with numerous electronic and explosive devices to create a scene similar to that from an action movie, police say. Bomb specialists spent most of Tuesday at a residential property in Meagher Avenue at Maroubra after being alerted by neighbours to a number of suspicious devices.

Nearby residents had become concerned about the man who lived at the address after not seeing him for several days. In fact, the man had been in hospital where he died last week of natural causes.

Detective Superintendent Gavin Dengate says very little is known about the 69-year-old man. "We do know that he was a recluse," Superintendent Dengate told reporters in Sydney today. About 50 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were found in and around the home, including a pressure switch linked to two gas cylinders in a car parked in the carport.



None of the devices had the potential to cause damage or injury, police said when they concluded investigations at the address. "All of the devices were inert ... they weren't capable of actually detonating," Superintendent Dengate said.

He added that some of them seemed to have been in place "for months", and that they appeared to have been expertly constructed, in keeping with findings that the man was an electrician. "I have no doubt that he was not there to randomly injure people," Superintendent Dengate said.

"He was a recluse and he wanted to remain that way." Inquiries to date have not found the man's next of kin.