A New South Wales boy has been arrested for inserting needles into strawberries, after admitting he performed the act as “a prank”.

NSW Acting Assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith announced the arrest on Wednesday afternoon, as Australia remains in the grips of the strawberry contamination crisis.

“In the last two days we found a young person has admitted to a prank, including putting needles in strawberries, and he’ll be dealt with under the youth cautioning system,” he told media.

Identifying details have been withheld due to the alleged offender’s age.

Sewing needles have been found in strawberries in all six Australian states since the first cases were reported by Queensland authorities on September 12.

Though several needles have been found in punnets in NSW, local detectives believe all are the work of copycats and pranksters.

Investigating police in each state are funnelling information back to detectives in Queensland, where the primary probe remains ongoing. The Queensland government has also offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction of the person/s responsible.