Prosecutors: British Man Laced Baby Food with Metal Shards in Disturbing Blackmail Attempt
A sheep farmer in Britain has been found guilty of planting baby food laced with metal shards in stores as part of a plan to blackmail a supermarket chain.
Prosecutors said Nigel Wright, 45, contaminated jars of Heinz baby food between 2018 and February 2020, and sent dozens of emails and letters to Tesco in a bid to extort 1.4 million pounds ($1.84 million) in the online currency Bitcoin.
Wright claimed to be part of a group of farmers angry at the low price they were paid for milk.
Tesco recalled about 42,000 jars of baby food after a mother reported discovering pieces of metal in one of the jars. A second mother later also came forward saying she made a similar discovery while feeding her 9-month-old.
Wright was caught on closed-circuit television planting one of the jars on a shelf and was later tracked down to his home, where police found photos of contaminated baby food on his laptop.
Officers also recovered about 100,000 pounds in Bitcoin which had been sent by undercover officers during the investigation.
A jury found him guilty of two counts of contaminating goods and three counts of blackmail.
A judged said Wright appeared to have a mental disorder and asked for a psychiatric report to be prepared ahead of his sentencing, expected in September.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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