DETECTIVES SHOCKED BY WRIGHT’S HORRIFIC AND CYNICAL CRIME

THE blackmailer who planted baby food filled with metal shards on Tesco shelves in a bid to extort £1.5 million “put babies lives at risk for money,” say detectives.

Nigel Wright, 45, was described as an unusual man by detectives who said it had been the most serious and challenging product contamination case ever.

Police said what made Wright different from other blackmailers was his willingness to carry out his “horrific” threats and risk babies’ lives for his own financial gain.

DI Lucy Thomson was the senior investigator in the case based with the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit.

She said: “I think his crime was absolutely horrific and of the most cynical nature, putting babies at risk and mothers feeding their children.

“I don’t think it gets much worse. It is absolutely disgraceful.

“It is deeply distressing for them. They are mothers with babies under one. They are in the safety of their own homes with their little ones. You do not expect to feed your baby shards of metal.

“I have worked in major crime for many years and I have never investigated a crime like this.” Wright carried out his destructive blackmail campaign between May 2018 and February this year using a single laptop and smartphone.

The turning point was when Wright placed his first jar on the shelves in Tesco, leading officers to his identity and the case “collapsed around him like a stack of cards” police said.

More than 30 officers trawled through CCTV day and night in a bid to identify the culprit and representatives from Tesco, Heinz and Cow & Gate met with detectives twice daily until his arrest.

ACC Bill Jephson who led the investigation, said: “The ultimate issue here was public safety and we had to find out who it was.”

“He obviously thought he was secure dealing in crypto currency. Our capabilities exceeded his.”