New Zealand police arrest businessman over threat to contaminate infant formula

New Zealand Police have arrested a 60 year old Auckland businessman in relation to the criminal blackmail threat to poison infant formula with 1080, made public in March this year. “There was a huge testing, regime”, said Mike Bush, New Zealand police commissioner.

The man will appear in the Manukau District Court this afternoon facing two counts of criminal blackmail. The crime is punishable by as much as 14 years in prison, Bush said.

The arrest comes after five search warrants were carried out in Auckland and Rangitikei this morning.

The defendant allegedly sent letters to dairy giant Fonterra and the NZ Farmer’s Federation in November, warning that baby formula would be poisoned unless New Zealand stopped environmental use of the poison.

More than 2600 people were considered by the investigation team over the course of the investigation, which cost police $3 million.

The threat forced government ministers to assure buyers of New Zealand infant formula at home and overseas that the product was safe.

They were accompanied by small packages of milk powder laced with a concentrated form of 1080.

Martyn Dunne of the Ministry for Primary Industries (L) talks to the media with Police Commissioner Mike Bush (C) and Detective Superintendent Andy Lovelock (R) over the arrest.

A businessman’s threat to poison infant formula with 1080 if the pesticide was not banned was motivated by financial gain, the charge sheet states. “The Operation Concord team has demonstrated a meticulous approach in managing large volumes of information and applying a range of forensic techniques in gathering evidence”, says Bush.

The head of a New Zealand exporters’ group said in March there had been a fall in Chinese demand after the threat to infant formula, which is prized among China’s middle class.

He said the risk of copycat hoaxes had always been present with this case: “That was certainly one of the things that ministers considered”.

“We would like to thank MPI and the New Zealand police for their continued and exhaustive efforts on behalf of the New Zealand dairy industry, retailers and the general public”.

“What we can say is that today’s development sends a clear message that we will use all necessary resources at our disposal to investigate such threats, no matter how long it takes”.

“Today’s arrest is a milestone in what has been a long and complex investigation over the past 11 months”, he said.