Relief after 1080 poison threat arrest

The 60-year-old businessman appeared before a court in the northern city of Auckland on Tuesday following one of the biggest criminal investigations to have faced New Zealand’s police force.

“Today’s arrest is the result of dedicated investigative work over many months”, Police Commissioner Mike Bush said on Tuesday.

If found guilty of the two counts of blackmail, the man, whose identity has not been made public, could face up to 14 years in prison.

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

Letters referred to the local farmers’ panel and dairy products tremendous Fonterra last November, in the midst of deals of infant formula home to the pest control 1080, requested where the utility of the harmful pest control be quit at the end of March.

“It is very good news that the police have followed up… obviously I can’t say too much because it is before the courts, but it will be a great relief if that is the individual in question”.

The public was told of the threat in March and formula was taken from supermarket shelves and held securely to prevent contamination.

Dunne said 150,000 batches of a range of infant formula products and been tested under a new regime introduced after the threat.

Jan 15, 2015: Milk testing methods validated and sampling strategy approved.

The testing of formula would continue as part of manufacturers’ food safety measures, he added.

In the year ended June, the South Pacific nation sold 12 billion New Zealand dollars ($7.6 billion) worth of dairy products to overseas markets, making them the nation’s single largest export. Though it was deemed “effective and safe” by a parliamentary re-evaluation in 2011, many New Zealanders are concerned about its affect on water sources.

He was one of 2600 people considered in the investigation and police believe he acted alone.

“Particular credit should go to the people of New Zealand and elsewhere who reacted to the threat in a measured and considered way”, he said.

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

“We’d like to acknowledge the significant joint industry response to this threat“.