A woman accused of strawberry needle contamination faces court in Brisbane | Australia news

The first person accused of the strawberry crisis is expected to face a court in Brisbane after spending the night behind bars.

This 50-year-old woman is scheduled to appear in Brisbane Court of First Instance on Monday morning for seven police charges, two months ago after Queensland health authorities issued a safety warning Sew were found concealed inside a strawberry tray.

Dozens of other discoveries of needles in strawberries, apples and other fruits States have triggered multi-jurisdictional investigation conducted for several months by Queensland police .

According to the police, the accused faces a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment if she is convicted,

Detective Superintendent Jon Wacker said the investigation was "major and unprecedented […] with many of the complexities involved. "

"The Queensland Police Service has allocated a significant amount of resources to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice," he said in a statement released on Sunday.

"Although the investigation is far from over, I would like to acknowledge the tireless efforts of our investigators as well as members of all other Australian agencies who have played a role." [19659002] The Queensland Strawberry Growers Association has welcomed the arrest of this woman.

"It was a crisis caused by social media and strawberry producers and, to some extent, other producers and exporters of Australian fruit are the only casualties."

A Southern Man Australia was charged in September Sending a false report of strawberry contamination to local police, while police spoke to children from Western Australia and New South Wales about similar incidents.