The Queensland Police Service remains the lead agency in a nationwide hunt to find who was responsible for placing sewing needles inside strawberries sold across Australia last month, an action that prompted police six brands of the fruit to be removed from supermarket shelves, alarmed consumers and caused serious disruption in the soft fruit business.
“Queensland officers are continuing to work closely with multiple jurisdictions and government agencies investigating the matter,” the QPS said. “At this stage, there is no evidence of a coordinated and organised contamination occurring.”
A police source said investigators had been hampered initially by a reluctance to cooperate on the part of key potential witnesses in the fruit industry. A series of “copycat” offences across Australia had also distracted officers from the initial attacks on three Queensland-based brands, the source said.
However, the Sydney Morning Herald mentions at least two potential witnesses in the Caboolture area near the affected farms, who were contacted by detectives in the weeks following the scandal but are still waiting to hear back from police and have yet to be interviewed.
Queensland Premier Anastacia Palaszczuk announced a $100,000 reward for information leading to the apprehension and conviction of anyone responsible for the contamination of strawberries at Queensland farms and pledged $1 million to support farmers whose sales were hit by the crisis.
