A case of poisoning that has hit the quiet, rural communities of Nagano Prefecture may have been the act of a person familiar with the operation of the local supermarket where cyanide-laced cans of oolong tea were placed, police officials said Friday.
Nagano Prefectural Police said Friday that they have mobilized 130 police officers to investigate the case of a 58-year-old resident in Obuse who died Monday shortly after drinking a cyanide-tainted can of oolong tea he bought at Sun, a supermarket in the nearby city of Suzaka.
The victim, Ichijuro Nakazawa, was originally believed to have died of cardiac arrest. But after hearing reports of poisoned tea found Tuesday at Sun, Nakazawa's family found that the can he drank from had also been tampered with. There was a small hole at the bottom of the can, which was sealed with a transparent adhesive, and police discovered a cyanide compound from the tea that remained in the can.