Police arrest man after suspicious package was sent to Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine plant in Wales

Police arrest man, 53, in Kent after suspicious package was sent to Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine plant in north Wales that forced production to be suspended for up to five hours

  • Kent Police officers arrest 53-year-old a man following raids in Chatham, Kent 
  • Army’s bomb disposal unit made the package safe before taking it away for tests
  • Employees were evacuated from Wockhardt pharmaceutical facility in Wrexham
  • Wockhardt provides fill-and-finish services for Oxford and AstraZeneca vaccine

Police investigating a suspicious package sent to a Covid-19 production site have made an arrest.

Emergency services were called yesterday when staff raised the alarm at the Wockhardt UK plant on the Wrexham Industrial Estate in Wrexham, north Wales.

Production of the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab ground to a halt as the Army’s bomb disposal unit worked on the package before taking it away for further analysis.

Police and the Army were called to Wockhardt UK plant on the Wrexham Industrial Estate in Wrexham, north Wales when a suspicious package was reported

And today police in Kent have arrested a 53-year-old man on suspicion of sending the package and he remains in custody as the investigation continues.

A spokesman for Kent Police said: “Kent Police have detained a man after a suspicious package was sent to a Covid-19 vaccine production plant in North Wales.

“The suspicious package is reported to have been received at the facility, in Wrexham, on the morning of Wednesday 27 January 2021.

“As part of ongoing enquiries, which are being carried out by the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, pre-planned warrants took place at addresses in Luton Road and Chatham Hill, Chatham, on the morning of Thursday 28 January.

“A 53-year-old man from Chatham has been arrested on suspicion of sending the packages and remains in custody as enquiries continue.

“There is no evidence to suggest there is an ongoing threat.”

Bomb disposal teams were seen at the property yesterday to deal with the unknown package delivered to the business which provides the final stage of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine

Bomb disposal teams were seen at the property yesterday to deal with the unknown package delivered to the business which provides the final stage of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine

The arrest came after police earlier raided two properties in Chatham, Kent.

The global pharmaceutical and biotechnology company in north Wales provides fill-and-finish services for the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine – the final stage of putting the vaccine into vials.

Yesterday a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defence said an explosive ordnance disposal team based in Chester was called out just after 11.30am and was assisting the authorities in Wrexham.

The leader of Wrexham County Borough said authorities worked ‘through the night’ to ensure that the site was not overwhelmed by flood water.

Police put up a cordon around the north Wales business on Wednesday as police and the Army worked to make the area safe

Police put up a cordon around the north Wales business on Wednesday as police and the Army worked to make the area safe

Mark Pritchard said on Thursday morning resources such as gullies had been put in place to protect the vaccine storage facility on the industrial estate.

‘I’m sure you are aware that the Oxford vaccine is manufactured there and we had to work with the company logistically with their storage facility, that was under possibility of flooding,’ he told Sky News.

‘So we worked through the night with that and that was a success. This could have had an impact not just in Wrexham, Wales, but across the whole country with the vaccination supplies.’