It is late on a hectic afternoon; a threat is received, by phone call, letter, email or fax. Someone claims to have poisoned a selection of your goods and placed them on the shelves of several supermarkets. The blackmailer demands a huge sum and gives you little time to react. Your consumers are at risk, the damage to your brand could be incalculable and relations with suppliers are in jeopardy. Health authorities may need to be informed and the media will soon begin to hound you while you are still coming to terms with the enormity of the situation. Sadly, in today's world, this nightmare scenario happens.

The extortionist may not be an outsider extortionist, but a disgruntled employee. They are not necessarily after your money. They nurse a grievance and are after revenge and they know your procedures and processes from inside your organisation. Their malicious aim is product contamination.

Drum Cussac can help you prepare for such eventualities. Moreover, we can guide and advise you as to how to minimise the likelihood of becoming a victim in the first place. Do you have a plan setting out how to tackle a problem of this nature? Does everyone know what to do in such a crisis? Have you rehearsed the plan on a regular basis, identified and eliminated the weak spots, trained key managers from all the relevant disciplines, established the key liaison and contacts with law enforcement and other authorities? These are just some of the areas where we can help you.