A farm worker accused of sparking a strawberry needle saga in Australia was arrested in Brisbane on Sunday, two months after Queensland police fronted the media to warn about punnets being contaminated with needles.

My Ut Trinh, 50, will remain in custody after appearing in a Brisbane court on Monday morning, ABC News reports.

Police have charged her with seven counts of contamination of goods with intent to cause economic loss, an offense that normally carries a maximum jail time of three years.

However, police allege there is a circumstance of “aggravation,” meaning the maximum prison term is increased to ten years.

Trinh, whose name suggests she may be of Vietnamese origin, worked at the Berry Licious/Berry Obsession farm in southeast Queensland and it is alleged she had grievances about her treatment at work.

According to 7 News, Trinh allegedly told others she “wanted to bring them down” and “put them out of business.”

Police launched an investigation on September 9 after a Queensland man reported swallowing a contaminated berry.

The contamination saga then spread from Queensland across the country, as there were 186 reports of sewing needles being found in strawberries, 77 of which were in Queensland.

Sixty-eight strawberry brands were affected, including 49 in Queensland.

The contamination scares resulted in supermarkets pulling strawberries off their shelves, and metric tons of the fruit was dumped at the peak of the growing season.

A needle is found inside a strawberry in Australia. Photo: Facebook

At the time, health officials warned people to carefully check any Berry Licious or Berry Obsession strawberries from interstate growers for possible contaminants.

Police say Trinh’s DNA was found inside a contaminated punnet in Victoria as part of a two-month, complex investigation.

"DNA evidence will be part of the brief of evidence that will be submitted to the court," ABC News quoted Superintendent Jon Wacker from the Queensland Police Drug and Serious Crime Group as saying.

Wacker said items seized in Victoria had played an important role.

"This is a major and unprecedented police investigation with a lot of complexities involved," Wacker said in a statement.

"The Queensland Police Service has allocated a significant amount of resources to ensure those responsible are brought to justice."

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!