A former Russian KGB agent has claimed he was poisoned 10 years ago on Queen St, Auckland.
Boris Karpichkov appeared on Good Morning Britain about the case of former spy Sergei Skripal.
Mr Skripal was left critically ill, along with his daughter, after a suspected nerve agent attack in England.
Mr Karpichkov said a person sprayed a substance on his face while he walked down Queen St.
"I just was walking, carrying my bag," Mr Karpichkov told hosts Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid.
He said he looked to the left, and noticed someone who looked like a "common beggar" tried to grab his bag.
He said the instinctively pulled back his hands, and then felt a dust-like substance "thrown" onto his face.
He said he then almost passed out, "my head started spinning, I started sweating", and later in the evening his nose and eyes were running, his chest broke out in a rash. He went to a doctor in New Zealand who told him it was a common flu.
Mr Karpichkov claims other people had followed him before the alleged attack.
He said he lost 30 kilograms in weight over the next few months, and also lost hair.
He said he did not report it to police but did go to immigration.
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