A bomb threat was received at 1.50pm through a call centre operator at TrustPower in Tauranga.
The target was Oamaru's three-storey TrustPower and Pulse Business Solutions building, which houses TrustPower's South Island call centre.
Part of the town's central business district was closed for more than five hours before the building was declared safe.
Yesterday afternoon, Detective Sergeant Mike Ryder said police were working through calls around the time of the bomb threat to establish how callers could help.
He confirmed a South Otago man had been interviewed and other people would be spoken to during the investigation. Charges would be laid once the person responsible was located.
Reparation would be difficult to accurately establish. Not only was there the cost to emergency services but also to the many retailers and businesses affected, Det Sgt Ryder said.
In the early evening on Thursday, a call was made to another business in Oamaru suggesting the presence of a bomb.
That was managed within the operation police were running at the time and did not significantly inconvenience emergency services or anybody else. It was not necessary to evacuate anyone and no danger was posed to the public, Det Sgt Ryder said.
Police were investigating that call together with any possibility the two calls might be linked, he said.
• Highway patrol officers in Oamaru doing intersection campaigns on Thursday were redeployed to help with the bomb scare.
Acting Senior Sergeant Pete Muldrew said 78 infringement notices were issued at the intersection of Thames and Severn Sts.
