Police looking at threatening texts to 1080 activist
Police National Headquarters has refused to comment on the threats texted to Ban-1080 Party founder Bill Wallace by someone who accused him of not taking a hard enough stand against Department of Conservation airdrops of the poison.
The messages threatened violence against Wallace and appeared to also be directed at politicians, and came ahead of last year’s election.
A spokesman said police were ‘‘aware of a number of historic matters’’ in which 1080 had been involved in some way. ‘‘These matters have been or are being assessed to determine their relevance to the current investigation.’’
Police are working on Operation Concord, investigating who is behind threats made last November, in letters to Fonterra and Federated Farmers, to poison infant formula unless the Government stopped using 1080 by the end of this month.
Police were fully focused on Operation Concord and would not be drawn into discussions about previous events that might or might not be relevant, the spokesman said.
The Nelson Mail sought a response from Nelson police yesterday morning after Wallace revealed the texts. He said the officer who dealt with him when he reported them last year had not taken the threats ’’particularly seriously’’. The Mail was told that any comment would have to come from Police National Headquarters in Wellington.
Wallace was interviewed in Golden Bay by detectives yesterday afternoon. He said he was asked a series of ‘‘stock standard questions’’ and given a signed statement on what his views were, what he thought of the contamination threats, and if he knew anybody who was likely to have made them.
‘‘They just said that they’ll get in touch, and if I hear anything else, to call them – which, of course, I would do.’’
The interview had also covered the threatening texts.
‘‘I gave them the numbers and they had a read of the messages, and they’ve gone away with that.’’
Wallace released details of three of the texts, which contained abuse and threats of physical harm largely directed at him, but also an apparent threat to the Government. In part, one of the messages said ‘‘our intentions are very simple for these Wellingtonians’’ before detailing threats of physical harm ‘‘to make the Isis scumbags look like nice guys’’.
‘‘That is only if they are very lucky. To not watch their f****** children and relatives first,’’ the message said.
Another message referred to DOC needing to ‘‘ remedy their totally criminal past’’.
Wallace said he had responded to the first text from one of the numbers last year, which was signed ‘‘ Bob the bricklayer or something like that’’.