A 60-year-old businessman from Auckland has been charged in connection to the criminal blackmail threat to poison infant formula with 1080, which was made public earlier in March this year.
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The operation concluded when police executed a series of search warrants on Tuesday morning and arrested the Auckland-based man.
A 60-year-old businessman appeared in front of Judge David McNaughton at the Manukau District Court on Tuesday afternoon and was granted name suppression.
The charges carry a sentence of up to 14 years in prison.
Police carried out search warrants in Rangitikei and Auckland.
“The arrest follows a long and complex investigation it is one of the biggest investigations police have undertaken in recent years and reflects how seriously we view crimes of this nature”, Mr Bush said.
The total cost to date has been over $3 million.
New Zealand had a world class food safety system, he said, and “massive numbers” of testing regimes were put in place.
They were accompanied by small packages of milk powder laced with a concentrated form of 1080.
Police first informed the public of the threat in March and infant formula was pulled from the shelves of supermarkets and held securely to prevent contamination in store.
Commissioner Bush said the investigation has received assistance from a large number of organisations.
He said that 2600 people were spoken to by Police during the course of the investigation, and that the accused was part of that 2600.
“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”.
“What we can say is that today’s development sends a clear message that we will use all necessary resources at our disposal to investigate such threats, no matter how long it takes”.
He believed the scare may have damaged trade a little but New Zealand’s reputation had recovered because of how the threat had been managed.
“Particular credit should go to the people of New Zealand and elsewhere who reacted to the threat in a measured and considered way”, said Bush. The investigation team considered 2,600 people during its inquiries, with more than 60 persons of interest approached for interview.
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“Today’s arrest is the result of dedicated investigative work over many months”.
