Australian police arrest woman for needles inside strawberries

A 50-year-old woman was arrested by Australian police on Sunday for allegedly hiding needles inside strawberries destined for market, a crime that set off a scare in the country's key agricultural market earlier this year.

The September scare forced major supermarkets to pull fruit from shelves across the country. Many farmers were forced to dump tons of the fruit.

The woman was taken into custody on Sunday after a months-long "complex investigation" involving authorities and intelligence agencies from multiple states, Queensland Police said in a statement.

The woman is expected to be charged and appear in front of Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday.

Australian consumers in six of the country's eight states and territories had discovered sewing needles inserted into strawberries. 

The first reports came from Queensland, followed soon by reports of similar cases in five other states, which authorities deemed copycat behaviour.

At least one had to go to hospital after eating a strawberry with a needle inside, which led health officials to ask consumers to cut up strawberries before eating them. 

The Australian parliament fast-tracked legislation to toughen penalties for those found tampering with food, making the crime punishable by up to 15 years behind bars.