Pineapple candies containing a potentially lethal dose of methamphetamine have been distributed by a New Zealand charity that received them as a gift. A child and a teenager were hospitalized, the police are trying to identify 400 people who could have consumed it.
Pineapple candies containing potentially lethal amounts of methamphetamine have been found in food parcels distributed by a New Zealand charity, police said Wednesday.
A child, a teenager and a member of a charity have already been taken to hospital after tasting the sweets and “an investigation is ongoing”, according to police, who are trying to identify around 400 other people who may be because they got these candies. .
“We need to find them as quickly as possible,” said Inspector Glenn Baldwin, adding that 16 dangerous candies have been identified so far.
An anonymous donation
The police suspect traffickers or dealers to have packaged the methamphetamine with the candy under the brand name “Rinda”, to evade possible controls. The sweets were donated anonymously to the charity Auckland City Mission, who then distributed them through a food bank.
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A candy was tested by the New Zealand Drug Foundation when a person felt strange after starting to eat it, while noticing its bitter taste. A child and a teenager were taken to hospital after tasting and spitting out the candy without harm to their health, Inspector Baldwin said.
An employee of the association was also examined, but was allowed to leave the hospital.
Lethal dose of narcotics
According to Sarah Helm, spokeswoman for the New Zealand Drug Foundation, the candy contains about three grams of methamphetamine, a dose hundreds of times stronger than that consumed by its drug users. “Swallowing this amount of methamphetamine is extremely dangerous and can lead to deathMs. Helm added.
“You only have to touch or lick the substance very lightly to be seriously affected,” warned Auckland City Mission director Helen Robinson.
Eight families have been affected so far. In one case, a parent gave sweets to his child who immediately spat them out.
Methamphetamine can cause chest pain, increased heart rate, seizures, delirium and loss of consciousness, the New Zealand Drug Foundation warned.