Pick ‘n Pay have started searching customers in an effort to catch the ”skilled” person who is spiking goods with non-lethal doses of cyanide.
The retailer posted a R5-million reward on the weekend for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the extortionist.
Chief executive Sean Summers said on Monday the person behind the poisoning was ”very, very skilled” because he or she were only spiking the products, including spicy crisps and sardines with chilli, with low levels of cyanide.
”This person knows what they’re doing,” he said, adding that they had ”no idea” who was behind poisonings.
The retailer said on Saturday that non-lethal traces of cyanide had been found in two more products, one bought in Durban and one in Johannesburg.
In the Durban incident, said Pick ‘n Pay, a customer bought a can of sardines about a week-and-half ago and ate some of the contents. The customer fell ill and reported the matter to the store. The can of sardines was sent for analysis and low traces of cyanide were found.
Pick n’ Pay said the customer was in good health and blood tests would be available today.
The second incident occurred at the new Pick ‘n Pay store in Bedford Gardens, next to the Eastgate shopping centre in Johannesburg on July 3. Pick ‘n Pay said a nine-year-old child had eaten one packet of Fritos barbeque crisps and then became ill.
In the other cases the poisoned product had been marked with a warning written in a blue felt-tip pen. In the case of the crisps, the warning appeared to have been rubbed off. The crisps were found to contain low traces of cyanide. The child is said to be in good health.
Summers said the poisoning campaign amounted to a ‘full onslaught’ to every South African.
”We are now searching customers on the way in and are keeping all our video surveillance. In the past we used to destroy our footage after a certain time, but now we’re keeping it,” he said.
”We need to trust one another as human beings… human beings have to look after one another.”
Summers said they were trying to provide a safe and secure shopping environment, but added that ”no business can give you an absolute guarantee”.
Summers said they were following up every single lead, and that some had been very promising.
”We are appealing to anyone with information to contact us and help us and the police put a stop to this.”
He said the retailer had withdrawn the four products that had been spiked and asked customers to return them to a branch for a refund.
”We are in close contact with the three families, who have been incredibly supportive. We would also like to thank everybody who has phoned, written, e-mailed or approached us with support and encouragement. It really is deeply appreciated.”
The four products that the retailer wants back are: the 120g tin of Pick ‘n Pay No Name Brand Sardines; the 100ml bottle of Pick ‘n Pay Choice Garlic Flakes; the 155g tin of Lucky Star Pilchards in chilli and the 25g Simba Fritos Barbeque crisps, sold in strips of four.
The retailer said at the end of June that it had been the victim of a seven-week extortion campaign. On May 13 the company received a parcel by insured post containing a can of sardines, a bottle of garlic flakes and a can of pilchards in chilli.
Accompanying the parcel was a letter informing the company that the items had been poisoned and that unless the instructions were followed, similar items would be placed in stores.
When this reporter visited the Campus Square Pick ‘n Pay branch near Aukland Park in Johannesburg this afternoon, three large men, who would not have been out of place outside a nightclub, were searching every customer at the door.
The guards said said they were conducting the searches because of ”this poisoning thing” and were armed with a metal detector.
Shares in the retailer came under pressure in early trade on Monday.
However, dealers described the weakness in the shares as a knee-jerk reaction and did not expect any long-term affect on the group.
At 1010, Pick ‘n Pay shares were down 2,64% or 40 cents at R14,75 after
bouncing from their intraday low of R14,50. The all share industrial index was flat at this time. However, the share was pushed up last week and remains almost 8,5% firmer since July 1.
Dealers said that the weakness in the share on Monday could be due to profit taking.
”I don’t think the weakness will last. The share held up strongly last week and has come back a bit,” a dealer said.
He asserted that Pick ‘n Pay was well placed from a results point of view. The company had always had a high rating, which was unlikely to be affected by the extortion attempt.
”Pick ‘n Pay shares are down 40 cents which is no big deal. They are down in thin Monday morning trade. We need to see what happens later before coming to any conclusions.”
The dealer said that while people had become ill after eating products bought at Pick ‘n Pay, there had been no deaths or serious consequences. If this happened, pressure on the shares might take hold. – Sapa