- 2 men in the UK were given prison sentences for hiding syringes and needles in several food at a supermarket, including a box of cereal, and a packet of garlic bread.
- Bradley Scott, 30, and Matthew Keam, 24, were convicted of hiding the items at a Sainsbury's store in Aylesford, Kent, police said Monday.
- Scott and Keam, who were friends from a gym nearby, had used the syringes they hid in the store to inject themselves with steroids, MailOnline reported.
- They were jailed for 12 months each for the pranks, which police said posed the "potential for serious injury."
- The incident mirrors a crisis last year in Australia, when more than 100 needles were found hidden in grapes and strawberries across the country.
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Two men in the UK were sentence to prison for hiding syringes and needles supermarket food, which they has planted in items including a box of cereal, milk, and a packet of garlic bread.
Bradley Scott, 30, and Matthew Keam, 24, were found guilty of hiding the items in various products at a Sainsbury's store in Aylesford, Kent, police said Monday.
Both men were convicted of contamination of or interference with goods at a hearing at Maidstone Crown Court.
They received prison terms of 12 months each for the pranks, which police said posed the "potential for serious injury."
Scott and Keam, who were friends from a gym nearby, had used the syringes they hid in the store to inject themselves with steroids, MailOnline reported.
They hid syringes and needles in food items in the store seven times over the course of five months between July and December 2018, police said.
They were arrested after police carried out lab tests on the needles and found the men's DNA.
Police released a photograph of a syringe hidden in a display of what appears to be milk at the Sainsbury's store:
"These offences would no doubt would have caused considerable distress, anxiety and revulsion among shoppers and staff, alike," Detective Constable Barrie Prowse from Kent Police said in a statement.
"Whilst the needles repeatedly placed in items were found to be capped, there was clearly potential for serious injury to anyone who may have had the misfortune of finding these items."
Prowse said that Scott told police that his only reason for the crime was "plain stupidity." Police added that they said they chose to hide the items in the Sainsbury's simply because it was close to their gym.
Scott and Keam's conviction mirrors a widespread crisis in Australia in 2018, when more than 100 needles were found hidden in fruit across the country. It later spread to Singapore and New Zealand.