Qld shop device may have been prank

A suspicious device that sparked the evacuation of an Ipswich shopping centre may have been left in the car park as a prank.

A two-hour emergency declaration was lifted around 10.30am after police deemed the small cylindrical device found near an IGA supermarket to be harmless.

Several business were forced to evacuate during the episode, with the closure of a section of Brisbane Street disrupting peak hour traffic near Ipswich's city centre.

The device was initially spotted by a cleaner, who called police, with the bomb squad sending in a remote-controlled robot to inspect it.

Inspector Keith McDonald said the coke-can-sized item was covered in tape with a switch on top and wires inside.

One report has suggested it was a wrapped-up pineapple tin.

"We hope it's not a prank. If it's a prank, it's a very stupid prank and a silly prank," Inspector Keith McDonald told reporters.

"The inconvenience to people in this area was quite phenomenal."

Police will look at CCTV footage from the area to determine how the device was left at the shops.

Ipswich Deputy Mayor Paul Tully believes people behind bomb hoaxes should face mandatory jail terms.

In May, a 28-year-old man was charged over a fake bomb threat at an Ipswich home.

"These people are criminals who should get no leniency from the courts. They cause major problems for businesses, schools and the general community," Mr Tully said.