RED BULL BEING BLACKMAILED WITH CONTAMINATION PLOTS OF FECES

Threats: Anonymous blackmailers have vowed to contaminate Red Bull drinks

Red Bull has been targeted by blackmailers threatening to contaminate its products with faeces, the company said yesterday.
Anonymous callers apparently claimed to have planted cans of the firm's signature energy drink laced with faecal matter in grocery stores.
However, checks of the shops which were allegedly affected did not show any sign of contamination.

'Someone has been trying to blackmail Red Bull for weeks,' the drinks giant said in a statement.
The company said that it had decided to go public with the information in order to neutralize the blackmailers' leverage.

The statement continued: 'We are cooperating closely with police and share the opinion that we are close to the perpetrators and they will be found.'
Prosecutors in Salzburg, the Austrian town where Red Bull is based, has opened an investigation into the alleged blackmail, according to a company spokesman.
The investigation started earlier this month and concerns a number of anonymous emails received by the firm.

Popular: Red Bull sponsors a number of sporting events such as Formula One

 The spokesman insisted there was no proof that Red Bull products had actually been tampered with, saying: 'So far it is only about a claimed contamination.'
Red Bull's co-founder, Dieter Mateschitz, has a net worth of $7.1billion, making him Austria's richest person and number 162 in the world, according to Forbes magazine.
Red Bull sales grew 12 per cent in 2011 to $5.6billion.
The company, whose products are especially popular with young people, is known for its elaborate marketing and association with extreme sports.
It scored a coup last year when it sponsored daredevil Felix Baumgartner's record-breaking skydive from the edge of space.
The Red Bull Formula One team, which won the championship last year, opens its defense of the title on Sunday.