COPS in Australia are hunting a "commercial terrorist" amid the fruit sabotage scare - after a needle was found in supermarket banana.

The probe comes after punnets of strawberries spiked with needles were found in six states and territories, with a minister branding the tampering a "vicious crime".

6 Cops in Australia are now investigating the case of a contaminated banana after punnets of strawberries were spiked with needles Credit: Getty - Contributor

Queensland Police Commissioner Ian Stewart confirmed police were "investigating an incident" but did not give details about where the contaminated banana was found.

So far, sewing needles have been found in strawberries sold in Victoria and Queensland but the crisis has also spread to NSW, ACT and South Australia.

However, according to DEFRA, there is no threat to the UK - because we have not imported strawberries from Australia since 2009.

A spokesman said less than one per cent of bananas were imported from Australia in 2017.

He added: " Any products wishing to enter the UK market must comply with our rigorous safety standards."

It is now believed the contamination may affect six brands of strawberries: Berry Obsession, Berry Licious, Love Berry, Donnybrook Berries, Delightful Strawberries, and Oasis.

6 Sewing needles like this one have been found in punnets of fruit in six states across Australia Credit: 7news

6 It has been branded a 'vicious crime' Credit: Queensland Police

The Queensland police commissioner, Ian Stewart, said the investigation was complicated by the vast web of supply chains.

He said: “There is a range of really complex scenarios which could play out here, and we’re looking at all of them, and that’s what’s taking the time."

The vice-president of the Queensland Strawberry Growers Association, Adrian Schultz, said what started with a single “act of commercial terrorism” had brought a multimillion-dollar industry to its knees.

He also said jobs beyond the growers are now likely to be lost.

He told ABC Radio: “I’m angry for all the associated people, it’s the farmers, the people who supply them, the packaging people, the truckies with families to support, who suddenly lose their jobs ... it’s far-reaching."

Last week we told how Aussie mum Chantal Faugeras found three needles stabbed through the berries after buying them from a Coles supermarket in Wingham, New South Wales.

She shared footage on Facebook which appeared to show her finding needles in the store-bought strawberries.

6 An Aussie mum claimed she found this needle stuffed through her store-bought strawberries

6 Chantal Faugeras claims she found the needles after her daughter bit into a strawberry

6 Hoani Hearne, 21, was rushed to hospital after swallowing a needle Credit: Seven News

Her video was met with outrage and horror, with commenters asking, “What is wrong with people?”

She said the first needle was discovered when her daughter bit into one of the strawberries and found the hidden item on Wednesday.

After checking the rest of the punnet she found two more needles.

Chantal told news.com.au: “We found three all up in one punnet. My ten-year-old found the first after biting into one and brought the rest to me.

“I was shocked to see a pin sticking out of the one she bit and decided to squash the others in case and that’s when we found two others."

Mum posts video appearing to show her discovering three needles in a punnet of strawberries

Earlier this month, Hoani Hearne, 21, was rushed to hospital with "severe abdominal pain" after swallowing half a needle inside a strawberry.

He and friend Joshua Gane bought a punnet of strawberries from a Brisbane branch.

Other pins were found inside more strawberries, Mr Hearne alleges.

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