A former tax inspector was today jailed for six years for attempting to blackmail supermarket giant Tesco.
Philip McHugh sent 76 letters to Tesco threatening to bomb stores and contaminate products last July, and on two occasions demanded £500,000 from the retailer.
Tesco closed 14 stores as a security precaution when the threats were made, costing the chain £1.4m in lost earnings.
The BBC reports that the judge at St Albans Crown Court said McHugh was guilty of a sustained and serious effort to extort money from the chain. Last year McHugh had pleaded guilty to sample charges of blackmail and bomb hoaxes.
McHugh had built up debts of £37,000 from online gambling and had threatened to put caustic soda in yoghurt and bomb stores if the Tesco did not make large deposits into his bank account.
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