Australian police raid Greenpeace's offices in Sydney

Australian police raid Greenpeace's offices in Sydney

2011-07-22 01:09:35 GMT+7 (ICT)

SYDNEY (BNO NEWS) -- Australian police on Thursday raided the head office of environmental lobby group Greenpeace International in Sydney after some group's members destroyed a genetically modified (GM) wheat crop in Canberra last week.

Steve Campbell, Greenpeace's head of campaigns, told Australian Associated Press (AAP) that police "raided and locked down" the office shortly before noon on Thursday. "We are assisting the police with their inquires and they didn't make any arrests," he said.

On June 14, Greenpeace activists donned protective hazard suits and destroyed a trial GM wheat crop at a government-run experimental crop station in Canberra. The group said it acted over health concerns and the risk of cross-contamination.

"It's a really important issue for Australia, for our environment, for our future," Campbell said. "There was a potential problem with this particular crop getting into the wider environment and contaminating the wider environment or other wheat crops."

A spokesperson from the Australian Federal Police confirmed detectives were in the process of executing a search warrant on Greenpeace's head office over an alleged trespass and property damage incident in Canberra, APP reported.

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