Man arrested for stuffing razor blades into consumers' pizza dough

A man has been arrested after he was reportedly caught putting razor blades into pizza dough that was then sold to customers, according to the Saco Police Department in Maine.

The incident occurred on Oct. 6 when the Saco Hannaford Supermarket, located in Saco, Maine, near to both Kennebunkport and Portland, notified the Saco Police Department regarding a suspected food tampering incident.

The customer had reportedly purchased a Portland Pizza Pie Dough and then later found an undisclosed number of razor blades inside the product, according to a statement by the Saco Police Department.

The grocery store launched their own investigation and reviewed store security surveillance footage which led them to Nicholas R. Mitchell whom they allegedly caught tampering with the packaging of several Portland Pizza Pie Doughs.

“Nicholas Mitchell is a former associate of “It’ll be Pizza company” who manufactures product for Portland Pie,” said the Saco Police Department.

Authorities immediately released a physical description of Mitchell as well as a description of his car in an appeal to the public to help them track down the suspect as quickly as possible. They were able to arrest him within about two hours approximately 50 miles away in Dover, New Hampshire, according to a separate police statement announcing his arrest.

“This evening the Dover, NH Police Department located Nicholas Mitchell and took him into custody on the outstanding warrant for his arrest in the Hannaford's Portland Pie pizza dough razor blade case,” the Saco Police Department announced in a statement.

It is unclear what Mitchell’s motivations were in this case or if he was targeting anybody specifically.

According to Hannaford, customers who purchased Portland Pie pizza dough and Portland Pie cheese sold in the deli at any Hannaford store between August 1, 2020, and October 11, 2020, should not consume the products and may return it to the store for a full refund.

Customers are also urged to also check storage areas including freezers for products that may have been purchased and frozen during this timeframe.

“Hannaford Supermarkets has issued a recall for all Portland Pie cheese and Portland Pie fresh dough sold in the deli department,” read the statement from Hannaford. “After what is believed to be further malicious tampering incidents involving metal objects inserted into Portland Pie products, Hannaford has removed all Portland Pie products from all store shelves and has paused replenishment of the products indefinitely.”

No injuries or illnesses have been reported in connection with this recall and the case currently remains under investigation.