"Tastes Strange"... Candy Distributed at Food Bank Turns Out to Be 'Drug Candy'

Smuggled Goods Seemingly Ended Up at Donation Organization by Chance
Local Police Launch Investigation Including Tracking Donors

A food support organization (food bank) for the poor in Auckland, New Zealand, was found to have distributed candies containing 'drugs' to homeless people. The candies were reportedly donated to the organization by an anonymous member of the public.

According to foreign media including the AP News on the 14th (local time), the New Zealand food bank 'Auckland City Mission' is tracking a suspect who donated the drug-laced candies to the organization.

Drug candies are known to be a common means of distributing narcotics while evading law enforcement authorities. The photo shows drug candies found in the United States during last year's Halloween event and is not related to any specific expressions in the article.
[Image source=Captured from SNS]

Previously, the food bank received candies donated by an anonymous individual and distributed them to homeless people, but it was later discovered that the contents wrapped in the candy shells were solid blocks containing methamphetamine-type drugs.

The police, having received the report, have already launched an investigation. According to analysis by the New Zealand Drug Foundation, the amount of methamphetamine in the candies is up to 300 times the maximum level safe for general consumption, and it can be fatal if ingested by humans.

Ben Burks Ang, a spokesperson for the food bank, warned, "Disguising drugs as harmless food products for distribution is mainly used as a smuggling method to cross borders." He suggested that more drug candies may have been distributed throughout New Zealand.

It is known that one of these drug candies is traded for 608 dollars (about 820,000 won). However, Burks Ang believes that the drug candy incident is unlikely to be intentional. Instead, he speculated that it appears to be an accident caused by smugglers' mistakes.