Maine Man Arrested For Allegedly Putting Razor Blades In Pizza Dough

A man in Maine was arrested this week for allegedly hiding razor blades in pizza dough that was sold at local supermarkets.

Nicholas Mitchell, 38, was arrested Sunday in Dover, New Hampshire in relation to claims he tampered with food that was sold to the public, the Saco Police Department announced in a release issued this week. An investigation was launched after a customer of Saco Hannaford Supermarket reported that they'd found razor blades in their Portland Pie pizza dough, prompting the company to reach out to police last week with their suspicions that an employee was tampering with products.

Mitchell was identified as a suspect after surveillance footage showed an unnamed person tampering with pizza dough packaging during the manufacturing process, according to police. Mitchell is a former employee of the It’ll Be Pizza Company, the company that manufactures Portland Pie's products, and is alleged to have altered the dough during his time there.

Prior to Mitchell's capture, police released a photo of him as well as a description of his car in an attempt to gain the public's help in tracking him down. He was arrested in Dover, around 50 miles away, less than two hours later, ABC News reports.

Mitchell's motive is currently unknown, the Saco Police Department confirmed to Oxygen.com.

"There is no known motive for why he did this," Chief of Police Jack Clements said. "As the case progresses, we hope to find out why this was done."

In the meantime, Hannaford has issued a recall of all Portland Pie cheese and Portland Pie fresh dough that was sold in the deli department, citing "malicious tampering" during which "metal objects" were put inside various food products, according to a press release published on Sunday. The store has also taken all Portland Pie products off its shelves, and it is unclear if or when it will stock the products again.