Woman charged over pins in strawberries

Police investigating a major Australian strawberry needle contamination scare that sparked nationwide panic yesterday identified a former farm supervisor as their main suspect.

Pins and needles were found stuck into the fruit in September, leading supermarkets to pull boxes from shelves across Australia and New Zealand and forcing farmers to dump crops.

My Ut Trinh, 50, who worked at one of the strawberry farms where the tampered produce was grown, was arrested and charged with seven counts of contaminating goods by Queensland state police on Sunday.

“This has probably been one of the most trying investigations that I’ve been part of,” Detective Superintendent Jon Wacker told reporters in Brisbane.

Wacker said Trinh, an Australian citizen, “was a supervisor at a farm”, with Queensland’s Courier Mail identifying her employer as the Berrylicious and Berry Obsession farm.

The newspaper added that the suspect was believed to have grievances about her employer, and the police case involved discussions she allegedly had with others about seeking revenge.