Court Report: opening the 1080 envelope
NBR court reporter Hamish McNicol discusses the closing of a $37 million piece of blackmail. With special feature audio.
The businessman behind the 1080 blackmail threat was jailed for eight-and-half-years this week, bringing an end to a $37 million ordeal which started with a couple of threatening letters to Fonterra [NZX: FSF] and Federated Farmers.
Jeremy Hamish Kerr, 60, was earlier this month found to have been financially motivated when he made the threats, which involved envelopes containing enough 1080 to potentially kill more than 30 infants.
The sentence, which could have been as much as 14 years, came down to the threat or possible threat of Kerr’s actions, and whether he could have foreseen the damage it ultimately caused.
Fonterra says it cost it more than $20 million, a “catastrophic impact.”
Read the sentencing notes here.
Read Fonterra's full victim impact statement here.
Follow NBR on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram for the latest news and free on-demand audio from NBR Radio.
NBR Radio
Thu, 24 Mar 2016
Thu, 24 Mar 2016
© All content copyright NBR. Do not reproduce in any form without permission, even if you have a paid subscription.
Free News Alerts
Sign up to get the latest stories and insights delivered to your inbox – free, every day.
Free News Alerts
Sign up to get the latest stories and insights delivered to your inbox – free, every day.
Court Report: opening the 1080 envelope
56731