A Texas woman who allegedly pushed razor blades into loaves of bread at two Walmart stores was arrested on Tuesday.
Camille Benson, 33, of Texas, has been charged with attempted mayhem. Her bond is set at US$100,000.
Benson was arrested after several customers reportedly found razor blades in bread and banana nut muffins purchased at the two Walmart locations in Mississippi.
Lt. Candace Young with the Biloxi Police Department said the crime spree started earlier this month on Dec. 5.
“Store associates combed through their merchandise, couldn’t find any other compromised items, thought, ‘Hey, this is just an isolated event,'” Young told Fox 10.
It wasn’t until two days later that a customer at a second Walmart location found a razor in a loaf of bread, Young said.
The razor blades had been pushed through thin plastic packaging and inside the product, Young explained.
“They did another sweep of their merchandise for sale and found multiple loaves of bread that were compromised with razor blades. They also, at that time, found a muffin with a fishhook in it. Somebody had poked those items through the plastic packaging,” Young told the outlet.
After another customer complained to the Walmart Supercenter on Dec. 14, employees inspected the merchandise and found several more loaves had been tampered with, law enforcement officials said.
In a press release, the department asked anyone who bought bread from those Walmart locations to inspect the loaves and report any findings.
“The health and safety of our customers is always a top priority,” Walmart said in a statement. “We have removed and thoroughly inspected all potentially affected products at impacted stores in Biloxi.
“We appreciate law enforcement for their swift action and will continue cooperating with them as they investigate.”
If customers purchase a product that has been tampered with, they should immediately throw it out and visit their local Walmart for a full refund, the company added.
The Biloxi Police Department said it does not believe any other stores have been targeted and urge anyone who recently purchased bread from Walmart locations nearby to carefully inspect the product before consuming it.
— With files from The Associated Press