Man charged following tobacco contamination scare

8.30pm

Police today arrested a man allegedly at the centre of a cyanide scare in Tauranga on Sunday.

The alert was raised after a man bought a packet of Port Royal tobacco laced with white powder from a local supermarket.

The manufacturer, British American Tobacco, halted the sale of the product, but tests later showed the powder was harmless.

A 21-year-old Tauranga man was charged today with trying to obtain cash by false pretences in relation to the incident, a Tauranga police spokesman said.

He will appear in Tauranga District Court on Thursday.

Police declined to explain the link between the charge and the hoax or say whether further charges were possible.

BAT today cleared the roll-your-own tobacco for sale.

"Consumers are now able to purchase roll-your-own tobacco with confidence...," BAT spokesman Carrick Graham said in a statement. "Unfortunately this experience highlights the dangers of pranks against consumer product manufacturers both in New Zealand and overseas."

Meanwhile, a 12-year-old boy who took an envelope containing white powder to school today and presented it to his teacher as an April Fool's Day joke has angered Hamilton police.

Peachgrove School had to be evacuated after the teacher saw the powder and rang police.

After questioning, the boy admitted the envelope contained baking powder.

"It wasted a lot of people's time, not to mention the disruption caused to the school," Inspector Paul Carpenter said.

- NZPA