Up to 400 people have received parcels that may have contained contaminated candies, New Zealand police have launched a criminal investigation, New Zealand media reported.
Pineapple sweets distributed by a New Zealand charity have tested positive for a potentially lethal amount of methamphetamine, police said on Wednesday, sparking an urgent drive to get them off the streets.
A child, a teenager and an employee of the charity have already been taken to hospital after trying the candies.
Although none of them are seriously ill, police have launched a criminal investigation and are now trying to track down up to 400 other people who may have received the sweets.
Police speculated that the drugs may have been packaged under the Rinda brand by drug traffickers or dealers to avoid detection. In a written statement, Rinda said the company had learnt from New Zealand news reports that its sweets “may have been misused” and would co-operate with authorities.
They are believed to have then been given to the anti-poverty charity Auckland City Mission, which mistakenly distributed them through a food bank. Detective Inspector Glenn Baldwin said:
“Drug importation is complex, and organised criminal groups use a range of measures and techniques to try and evade enforcement agencies, not only in New Zealand, but around the world.”
The New Zealand Drug Foundation reported that a sample of a seemingly innocuous piece of white candy in a bright yellow wrapper showed that it contained methamphetamine.
The amount of methamphetamine in each candy was 300 times the level a person would normally consume and could have been fatal, according to the New Zealand Drug Foundation, the drug testing and policy organisation that first tested the lollipops.
Foundation spokeswoman Sarah Helm urged people who received the confectionery from the Auckland charity not to consume it.
Eight families have been affected so far. The contaminated candies were taken for analysis when a person felt strange after eating them and noticed a bitter taste.
Methamphetamine is a powerful, highly addictive stimulant that affects the central nervous system. It is a white, odourless, bitter-tasting crystalline powder that dissolves easily in water or alcohol.
