A tampered glass was discovered on April 18 in the village of Schützen am Gebirge. The case of alleged extortion by the food manufacturer HiPP, which is based in Germany, also directly concerns the Czech Republic and Slovakia, where two glasses of food contaminated with rat poison were found.
According to Heute, Austrian investigators have already visited a number of hospitals, retirement homes, kindergartens and families with small children in search of traces of the container. The Hungarian authorities were also allegedly informed in case the glass was taken to the neighboring country by commuters.
The Austrian police are looking for the glass not only because of the potential danger to small children. The Austrian server Krone pointed out that it could also be an important piece of evidence.
The public prosecutor’s office in Eisenstadt announced last week that the first glass found contained 15 micrograms of rat poison. According to Heute, it is not yet clear how dangerous it would be for a small child. The public prosecutor’s office is still waiting for the results of the additional toxicological analysis, writes Heute. For investigative reasons, the specific type of rat poison was not published.
In connection with the case, the Austrian authorities have launched an investigation due to the suspicion of an intentional public threat. HiPP previously stated that it had become a victim of blackmail. According to the Austrian newspaper Die Presse, the blackmailer demanded two million euros from the company, i.e. about 49 million crowns. The German authorities are investigating a case of suspected attempted extortion of a manufacturer of baby food that has been withdrawn from sale.
After securing the first glass in the country, the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES) warned that the substances contained in rat poisons reduce blood clotting and their ingestion may result in bleeding from the gums or nose, bruising or the presence of blood in the stool.
