Search Site   
Current News Stories
Owners of Stockyards Packing appreciate the location’s history
Plastic mulch contamination is causing negative effects in fields
US milk output slightly ahead of a year ago
Today’s 6 million 4-H’ers owe it all to A.B. Graham from Ohio
New and full moon of December could bring stronger storms
American Soybean Association concerned over EPA’s additional restrictions on new herbicide
Northern Illinois collection offers some rare tractors
Juncos returning to the bird feeder herald the start of winter
Tennessee farmers affected by Helene can still apply for cost-share program
Barns and other farm buildings perfect homes for working cats 
Indiana fire department honored for saving man trapped in grain
   
News Articles
Search News  
   
Contaminated baby
food leads to arrest of UK sheep farmer 
 
LONDON (AP) – A sheep farmer has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for his plot to use baby food laced with metal shards to blackmail one of Britain’s biggest supermarket chains.
Nigel Wright planted jars of the contaminated baby food in Tesco grocery stores and sent dozens of letters and emails to the supermarket company in a bid to extort 1.4 million pounds ($1.8 million) in bitcoin from 2018 and February.
Tesco had to issue a product recall after two mothers reported discovering pieces of metal in jars of Heinz baby food. No babies were harmed but in all, 42,000 jars of Heinz baby food were recovered.
Wright, 45, was accused of orchestrating the plot, allegedly in the name of a group of farmers angry at the low price they were paid for their milk. He denied the charges, but was convicted of two counts of contaminating goods and three counts of blackmail. Sentencing him, Justice Mark Warby compared Wright’s actions to terrorism and said he was remorseless.
“You chose to use threats of a particularly blood-curdling nature, deliberately designed to exploit the vulnerability of children, and the consequent vulnerability of a supermarket concerned for its business,” the judge said.
10/27/2020