London, England (AHN) — Fearing a chemical attack, police did everything to evacuate a busy London street, only to find out later the cause of the commotion: A Thai restaurant’s spicy chilli sauce.

Local police had to close off three roads and evacuated homes as a mysterious cloud of acrid smoke hovered over the streets of Soho for three hours.

Firefighters wore specialized breathing apparatus and entered the deserted streets to seek out the source.

Once identified, the firefighters broke down the door of the Thai Cottage restaurant only to emerge later carrying a huge cooking pot containing about 4 kilos of smouldering dried chillies.

The quick response of the emergency services caught the staff at the restaurant by surprise including Chef Chalemchai Tangjariyapoon.

“I was making a spicy dip with extra-hot chillies that are deliberately burnt,” said Tangjariyapoon. “I can understand why people who weren’t Thai would not know what it was. But it doesn’t smell like chemicals. I’m a bit confused.”

Tangjariyapoon told investigators he was just preparing Nam Prik Pao, a red-hot Thai dip served with prawn crackers.

A Scotland Yard spokesman confirmed the police operation saying “The street was closed off for three hours while we were trying to discover the source of the odor.”

Source: NCBuy

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