WUHAN - A man in central China's Hubei Province has been detained for sending a parcel containing a toxin which killed one man and made nine others ill, local authorities said on Monday.

The man, Yang, is on the staff of the Xiongxing Chemical Co. Ltd. in Jingmen City. On November 27, Yang sent a parcel containing samples of methyl fluoroacetate to a pharmaceutical factory in Weifang, east China's Shandong Province via Shayang Yuntong Logistics Company, a franchisee of Shanghai YTO Express.

The parcel leaked in the Weifang distribution center and contaminated several other parcels.

On November 29, a man died of methyl fluoroacetate poisoning after he accepted shoes delivered by Shanghai YTO Express.

On December 20, the Shandong post bureau said the "killer parcels" had been responsible for the death of one man and had made nine others sick. Yang was detained for allegedly endangering public security.

The business license of Shayang Yuntong Logistics has been revoked, according to the Hubei post bureau.

The Xiongxing Chemical Co. Ltd. closed down its methyl fluoroacetate workshop on November 30, said Huang Shengyong, deputy general manager of the company.

Police are still investigating the case.

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