An Italian couple have been arrested for allegedly sending thousands of threatening letters, often including soiled toilet paper, to public figures.
The strange scheme had been going on for two years before the Milan branch of Italy’s anti-terrorism squad, Digos, arrested the pair on Wednesday over accusations of threats and defamation, Italian news agency Ansa reports.
A 71-year-old former police officer and his 51-year-old partner were allegedly targeting high-profile people, they accused of corruption, paedophilia or murder.
"The man followed the news closely and was very up-to-date on things," Digos officer Carmine Mele told Italian news agency Ansa. "He had sent the letters practically everywhere."
The unpleasant post was sent to a range of people involved in sports, business, politics and TV.
This included the directors of Copenhagen Zoo, teachers accused of child abuse, football club and politicians, according to Ansa.
In the envelopes, the recipients would find a threatening message often accompanied by toilet paper stained with the couple's pet dog's excrements.
A notebook was found at their address with the list of people intended to receive the parcel and the reason for targeting them, along with 110 letters ready to be sent.
Police managed to trace back the senders of the letters after identifying similar characteristic such as black ink, cursive writing and had stamps from foreign countries such as Azerbaijan, Bhuta and Zaire, the Local reports.
