Australian woman charged with putting snail pesticide in colleague's curry

A woman in her 40s has been charged with putting snail pesticide in a colleague's curry at a workplace in Australia.

Western Australia police charged a 43-year-old woman with spiking a coworker's curry with snail pesticide pellets at a workplace in Oldbury, southeast of Perth, in February, according to Britain's Guardian and Australia's ABC News on Thursday (local time). Police arrested the woman last week.

A local police spokesperson said the curry had been shared among staff during a morning snack break without incident. "After the meal, the suspect entered a chemical storage area and then went into the staff break room where the food was kept," the spokesperson said.

The victim opened the container at lunchtime to eat the remaining curry and discovered bright green pellets in the food.

"The victim tasted a small amount and then experienced numbness in her tongue," the spokesperson said. The victim preserved the curry rather than discarding it and handed it over to police.

A police investigation confirmed the green pellets were snail pesticide containing metaldehyde, a toxic substance.

Snail pesticide is a granular product scattered on the ground in gardens and on farms to kill snails and slugs that feed on plant leaves. Metaldehyde can cause poisoning symptoms in humans, including vomiting and convulsions, and can be fatal in severe cases.

The substance has also frequently poisoned pet dogs that eat pellets scattered in gardens, prompting Britain to ban its outdoor use in 2022.

Police said the suspect and the victim had a "personal relationship" but did not disclose the nature of that relationship or the type of workplace where both were employed.

Australia has previously been shaken by food poisoning cases. In 2023, Erin Patterson of Victoria served a beef dish laced with poisonous mushrooms to her in-laws, killing three of them. She was found guilty of murder last year and sentenced to life in prison.