Residents in north Belfast were evacuated after a suspicious object was found on a window sill of a house in the Glencairn Street area last night.
Police received a report shortly before 11.30pm and Glencairn Street and adjacent streets were closed.
The Ammunition Technical Officers (ATO) later determined the object to be a hoax.
At approximately 4am, all roads were reopened, allowing residents to return home.
Police are appealing for information.
Inspector David McBride said: “We would like to thank all those affected by this incident for their patience and understanding as our officers worked to ensure their safety. This was a totally irresponsible act which brought widespread disruption to the area.
"An investigation into the incident is underway and I would appeal to anyone with any information which could assist with our investigation to contact officers at Tennent Street, on the non-emergency number 101, quoting reference number 2066 19/07/23.
"A report can also be submitted online using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/ or you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/."
