Defence Force detonate 'suspicious item' in Auckland's Orewa

A Defence Force unit was called to a beach in Auckland's Orewa after a suspicious item was discovered by a local.

Police say a member of the public discovered the object at about 2pm, leading to the beach being cordoned off.

The New Zealand Defence Force dispatched its ordnance disposal team to the beach, where they conducted a controlled explosion.

The man who found the item told 1News he was filling up sandbags on the beach with his brother when he discovered the item.

He found the item washed up on the beach with Spanish writing saying, "if found, alert the military or police."

The man said he wasn't too concerned as “it had obviously been rolling around for a bit without any problem”.

Following the controlled explosion, he said a member of the EOD squad told him they used 600g of C4 to blow it up.

Cordons remain in place while the scene is cleared.