Child, teenager taken to hospital after mistakenly eating meth-laced lolly

Two young people – a child and a teenager – were taken to hospital as a precaution after spitting out meth-laced lollies they had received in a food parcel from the Auckland City Mission.

The Rinda-branded pineapple lollies were unknowingly distributed in food parcels after a donation by an unknown member of the public in July.

So far, the mission knows of eight families that have been affected, including a pensioner in the Auckland CBD who came forward to police.

The lollies taste “acrid and revolting”, Auckland City missioner Helen Robinson said, but even licking them can affect people due to the large methamphetamine dose.

Each lolly contains up to 300 doses of meth and is potentially fatal.

Two mission staff tried the lollies on Tuesday and spat them out because of the taste.

They took the lollies to the New Zealand Drug Foundation for testing, she said.

An investigation is under way into the origins of the meth-laced lollies and police are treating the matter as a priority given the risk to the public.

Detective Inspector Glenn Baldwin said on Wednesday the investigation was in its infancy, with eight officers are on the case, and it was believed the lollies were imported.

“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,” he said.

It would take time to understand how the lollies were brought into the country and ended up at the Auckland City Mission, Baldwin said.

It was too early to say if the incident was gang-related, he said.

Robinson believes any parcels containing the lollies have been distributed from the Auckland City Mission’s Boston Rd base.

“We are sure that it has not gone out to our partner marae,” she said.

The lollies were donated to the mission sometime in July, possibly around the middle of the month, she said, but to be safe they are working on the assumption that they may have been distributed since July 1.

The Drug Foundation said initial testing of a sample on Tuesday showed it was 100% methamphetamine.

“You could have only a very small touch or lick of this substance and still be affected,” Robinson said.

“In time we will conduct an internal investigation to determine if our processes need to be improved.”

Robinson said it had been “highly appropriate” for mission staff to assume the lollies were safe as they were received in a sealed pack.

“To say we are devastated is an understatement,” she said.

“It has been deeply distressing for us and for anyone who may have been a recipient of those lollies.”

NZ Drug Foundation deputy director Ben Birks-Ang said he is concerned more of the lollies may be “out there”.

“We know that disguising substances as something else to smuggle it is common internationally.”

Birks-Ang said consuming one of the lollies is potentially lethal, with symptoms including chest pain, racing heart, hyperthermia, delirium, and loss of consciousness.

Anyone affected should call 111 or the National Poisons Centre, he said.

Robinson said she was very proud of the food parcel recipient who first alerted the mission to the lollies after they tried one and felt out of sorts.

“Their actions have potentially saved lives in our country.”

She said when she spoke to the person on Tuesday night, their physical health was fine.

The mission distributes around 50,000 food parcels a year, Robinson said, and only accepts commercially manufactured food for inclusion in food parcels, and the lollies appeared as such when donated.