Two months after the first finding of needles in supermarket strawberries in Australia, the police have detained a suspect. The 50-year-old woman was taken after „complicated and exhaustive investigations“ today, police said in the state of Queensland. Information about the allegations against the woman and their motives did not make the police. At the beginning of the week she will be shown to a judge in Brisbane.
Strawberries and other packaged fruit needles have been causing a stir in Australia for weeks. In September, a man in Queensland was hospitalized after drinking strawberries with stomach ache. Pins were found in his stomach. More than a hundred alleged needles in strawberries were reported nationwide. There was even a case in neighboring New Zealand.
Australian supermarkets then took strawberries out of the bargain, and the fruits ended up in tons of garbage. The state of Queensland issued a reward of 100,000 Australian dollars (61,000 euros) for clues to the perpetrators. The Australian government tightened the laws, which now provide for up to 15 years in prison for such crimes.
