The 50-year-old woman arrested yesterday for allegedly contaminating strawberries with sewing needles has been identified as a supervisor at one of the Queensland farms impacted by the saga, The Courier-Mail reports.
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My Ut Trinh faces seven counts of contamination of goods, after allegedly inserting the needles into punnets of strawberries departing the Berrylicious and Berry Obsession farm in south-east QLD.
Those charges carry a maximum penalty of three years behind bars, but Queensland Police are expected to allege the contamination was aggravated, which would bump up the maximum penalty to a ten-year prison sentence.
Authorities are also expected to claim that Trinh had aired her workplace grievances to colleagues, before allegedly spiking the berries as an act of revenge against her employer.
The initial contamination has been blamed for inspiring a string of copycats, who went ahead and spiked berries themselves. Supermarkets responded by withdrawing Australian strawberries from their shelves, causing a massive economic hit to the industry.
Trinh is expected to face Brisbane Magistrates Court this morning.
Investigations into the broader contamination scandal are ongoing.
