Farm worker accused of inserting needles into strawberries was arrested ‘after a DNA test linked her to the contamination scandal’
- My Ut Trinh, faced court on Monday over the strawberry contamination scandal
- 52-year-old was the former supervisor of the Berrylicious farm, in Queensland
- A court has heard her DNA was found liking her to one of the needles
A DNA test linked a Queensland woman to a needle found in a strawberry punnet, a court has heard.
Former strawberry farm supervisor My Ut Trinh, 52, was a person of interest early in the investigation into deliberate strawberry contamination in 2018, says Detective Sergeant Gary Perrett.
But officers found there was insufficient evidence to charge Trinh until they received DNA test results linking her to a needle, he told a committal hearing in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday.
Former strawberry farm supervisor My Ut Trinh, 52, was a person of interest early in the investigation into deliberate strawberry contamination in 2018, says Detective Sergeant Gary Perrett
Prosecutors allege the former strawberry farm supervisor was seeking revenge over a workplace grievance when she contaminated the fruit
Trinh is charged with six counts of contamination of goods to cause economic loss.
She was working at Berrylicious in her hometown of Caboolture, north of Brisbane, between September 2 and 7, 2018 when she allegedly inserted needles into the fruit.
A man found a needle when he bit into a contaminated strawberry on September 9, sparking a national food safety frenzy with strawberries stripped from shelves nationwide.
Det Sgt Perrett said more than 240 copycat incidents were reported after the initial incident.
“It went berserk,” he told the court.
The committal hearing continues.