Man and woman due in court over Princes Street Gardens suspicious package found over 3 years ago

A 35-year-old man and 32-year-old woman have been charged in connection with a suspicious package discovered in Princes Street Gardens more than three years ago.

Police confirmed that the pair, a Greek couple, are expected to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Thursday, June 17.

They were arrested earlier this week at separate locations in the Capital - Granton Road and King George IV Bridge - over the incident which sparked a major police response in the city centre.

The suspicious item was discovered in a public shelter in the gardens on January 11, 2018.

The discovery sparked a major police response in Edinburgh city centre back in January 2018. Pic: Jon Savage.

Army bomb disposal experts were called in and a controlled explosion was carried out about three hours after the alarm was raised. No one was hurt during the incident.

Detective Chief Superintendent Stuart Houston, Police Scotland’s head of Organised Crime and Counter Terrorism, said officers from Scotland’s Counter Terrorism Unit carried out enquiries following the discovery of the item, including with European partners and law enforcement agencies.

He described it as a “protracted and challenging inquiry” to identify those believed to be responsible.

A‌ ‌message‌ ‌from‌ ‌the‌ ‌Editor:‌ ‌

Thank‌ ‌you‌ ‌for‌ ‌reading‌ ‌this‌ ‌article.‌ ‌We're‌ ‌more‌ ‌reliant‌ ‌on‌ ‌your‌ ‌support‌ ‌than‌ ‌ever‌ ‌as‌ ‌the‌ ‌shift‌ ‌in‌ ‌consumer‌ ‌habits‌ ‌brought‌ ‌about‌ ‌by‌ ‌coronavirus‌ ‌impacts‌ ‌our‌ ‌advertisers.‌ ‌ ‌

If‌ ‌you‌ ‌haven't‌ ‌already,‌ ‌please‌ ‌consider‌ ‌supporting‌ ‌our‌ ‌trusted,‌ ‌fact-checked‌ ‌journalism‌ ‌by‌ ‌taking‌ ‌out‌ ‌a‌ ‌‌digital‌ ‌subscription‌‌ ‌at‌ ‌ https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/subscriptions‌