A New Zealand charity that distributes food parcels to the poor inadvertently sent out sweets made from “potentially lethal” levels of methamphetamine.
Police are racing to trace the sweets that were delivered to as many as 400 people by Auckland City Mission.
Five people are known to have sought medical treatment so far, including a child and a teenager, who both spat out the drugs.
The anti-poverty charity said the sweets were delivered to them in a sealed bag by a member of the public.
Each sweet contained 300 times the dose of methamphetamine normally taken for one “hit” by drug users. Each would be worth about £460 if sold on the street.
Glenn Baldwin, a detective inspector in Auckland Police, said there was “nothing at first glance that would make [the sweets] seem dangerous” but they were “100 per cent meth”.
“If a child eats one of these, they could be in significant danger,” Mr Baldwin said.
He said investigators would work with Interpol and customs to trace the origin of the drugs, which were inside wrappers marked with Malaysian brand Rinda.
Winter care package
Helen Robinson, the chief executive of Auckland City Mission, said suspicions were first raised on Tuesday after one recipient of the charity’s winter care package reported that the supposedly pineapple-flavoured confectionery had a strange, bitter flavour.
Mission staff then sucked on a sweet and began to “feel funny” after reporting an “acrid and revolting” taste, Ms Robinson said.
That was because it was actually 30g of the highly addictive drug, tests by the NZ Drug Foundation later revealed.
Ms Robinson said: “To say we are devastated is an understatement… It has been deeply distressing for us and for anyone who may have been a recipient of those [sweets].”
Auckland City Mission distributes around 50,000 food parcels each year, Ms Robinson said, and only accepts commercially manufactured food for inclusion.
Sarah Helm, the executive director of the NZ Drug Foundation, said a common dose methamphetamine users take was between 10 to 25mg.
“So this contaminated [sweet] contained up to 300 doses,” Ms Helm said.
“Swallowing that much methamphetamine is extremely dangerous and could result in death.”
‘We have seen this before’
Auckland is still reeling from the death of a 21-year-old man last year who drank a can of Honey Bear House Beer laced with liquid methamphetamine, Mr Baldwin said.
“Drug importation is complex and organised criminal groups use a range of measures and techniques to try and evade enforcement agencies,” he added. “We have seen it before [food laced with meth] and it is deeply worrying.”
Calling for the drugs to be handed back to police, the inspector warned: “The drug dealers want the meth, and the last thing the public need is this stuff in general circulation.”
The post Donated ‘sweets’ sent to families by NZ food bank found to be pure meth appeared first on The Telegraph.
