Man held over €2m blackmail plot after rat poison found in HiPP baby food jars in Austria
A 39-year-old man has been arrested in Burgenland for his alleged involvement in an attempt to blackmail the German baby food manufacturer
A man has been arrested in Austria in connection with an attempted blackmail case in which rat poison was found in jars of baby food.
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Two weeks ago, the German brand HiPP recalled its products sold in Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia after a jar of carrot and potato purée HiPP baby food was found to contain poison in the eastern state of Burgenland.
Austria's Die Presse newspaper reported that an email demanding €2m (£1.73m) had not been noticed by HiPP until two weeks after the ransom deadline expired.
German police became involved in the case because the jars were manufactured by a German company.
A spokeswoman for the Public Prosecutor's Office in Eisenstadt told Germany's DPA news agency on Saturday that a 39-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of attempted blackmail.
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The firm's CEO told the newspaper that the message was sent on 27 March to an email address that is checked every two to three weeks.
The initial 190-gram jar was found by investigators to contain a total of 15 micrograms of rat poison. The jar had been bought in a SPAR supermarket in the city of Eisenstadt in Burgenland state and was tested after a customer reported it.
Authorities believe at least one more poisoned jar is still in circulation in Austria and have issued guidance on how to recognise tampered jars.
Police say the suspicious products likely have a sticker with a red circle on the bottom. Other warning signs include a damaged or open lid, an unusual smell, and no popping noise when the jar is first opened.
"Products and distribution channels in Germany or other European countries that are not part of the investigations are not affected," HiPP said.
"This critical situation involves an external criminal interference that affects the SPAR Austria distribution channel," HiPP added.
The Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety warned parents whose babies had consumed the brand's food to consult a doctor if their children showed signs of bleeding, extreme weakness or paleness.