Police Goes After Auckland City Mission Over Sweets Given As Charity In New Zealand ~ OsazuwaAkonedo
Police Goes After Auckland City Mission Over Sweets Given As Charity In New Zealand ~ OsazuwaAkonedo #Malaysian #NewZealand #Rinda #Sweets https://osazuwaakonedo.news/police-goes-after-auckland-city-mission-over-sweets-given-as-charity-in-new-zealand/14/08/2024/ #Breaking News Published: August 14th, 2024 Reshared: August 14, 2024 11:31 am Police in NewZealand is currently calling on homeless and underserved people
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00:00Police in New Zealand is currently calling on homeless and under-served people who receive
00:04sweets as charity gifts from Auckland City Mission, a charity organisation to return
00:09the sweets or avoid eating the pineapple flavoured sugar food. According to the police authority,
00:15the pineapple sweets staged out by the New Zealand charity have tested positive for
00:19potentially lethal amounts of methamphetamine. The police made this known on Wednesday morning
00:24which sparked an urgent race to remove them from the streets as the contaminated sweets
00:29contain about 300 doses of meth which authority in the country said can lead to death.
00:34It was gathered that the New Zealand charity, Auckland City Mission, accidentally gave out
00:40the sweets filled with lethal dose of methamphetamine, a highly addictive
00:44stimulant that affects the central nervous system, according to observers.
00:48We learnt that it was the anti-poverty charity, the Auckland City Mission, that raised the alarm
00:54after discovering a batch of the sweets was contaminated with the highly addictive and
00:58illegal narcotics. Here's what happened, the charity recently handed out what appeared to
01:03be pineapple flavoured boiled sweets to the community. Unfortunately, these sweets were
01:09actually small blocks of methamphetamine cleverly disguised to look like individually wrapped candies.
01:15Authorities are now working diligently to recover these dangerous substances and ensure they don't
01:21cause harm. The Auckland City Mission, which operates with a mission to support the vulnerable
01:26and underserved, has expressed deep concern and is cooperating fully with the police.
01:31The meth was disguised as pineapple flavoured boiled sweets. The Auckland City Mission
01:36distributed these items before realising the mix-up. The police are actively involved in
01:42recovering the meth and ensuring public safety. The situation is under investigation and the
01:48priority is to address the issue swiftly to prevent any potential harm. If you or anyone
01:54you know has received these candies, please report it immediately to local authorities.
01:59Your safety and well-being are paramount, a resident in New Zealand stated in a post.
02:05The anti-poverty charity said in a statement that up to 400 people may have received the sweets
02:10from Auckland City Mission as part of a food parcel. Adding, the sweets were donated anonymously
02:16by a member of the public in a sealed retail package. At least three people, including a child,
02:22sought medical attention afterwards though none are currently in hospital.
02:26We did not know that the lollies contained methamphetamine when they were distributed,
02:31the charity's spokesperson said, according to BBC reports. New Zealand Drug Foundation said
02:37each individual sweet could have a street value of around $1,000 New Zealand dollars,
02:42$601 United States dollars. Police said while the incident could be accidental rather than a
02:48targeted oppression, they had not drawn any conclusions as it is a bit early to say.
02:54The charity alerted the authorities on Tuesday after being alerted by a recipient about the
02:59funny tasting sweets. Helen Robinson, Chief Executive of Auckland City Mission,
03:05said that some of the charity's staff members tried the sweets themselves and agreed with
03:09the complaints and started to feel funny afterwards, according to BBC. The BBC report
03:16added that they then sent sweets that were still on site to the New Zealand Drug Foundation for
03:20tests which confirmed that potentially lethal levels of methamphetamine were contained in the
03:25samples. The foundation said they found about three grams of methamphetamine in a sweet that
03:30was sent for testing. A common dose to swallow is between 10 to 25 milligrams, so this contaminated
03:38lolly contained up to 300 doses, says its head Sarah Hell, adding that swallowing such amounts
03:43of the drug is extremely dangerous and cold. Results in death, methamphetamine can cause
03:49chest pain, resting heart, seizures, hypothermia, delirium and loss of consciousness, according to
03:56the foundation. Robinson said the mission distributes around 50,000 food parcels a year
04:02and only commercially manufactured food are included in these parcels. Meanwhile, police
04:07have asked people that have sweets wrapped in brand vendors' yellow pineapple flavour packaging
04:12to contact them immediately. It's vital the public are aware of these lollies and the hazard
04:17that they present, Detective Inspector Glenn Baldwin said in a press conference on Wednesday.
04:22He said that such cases of food less with meth had happened before and they would likely work
04:27with Interpol on the investigation, which may take some time. Rinda, a Malaysian confectioner,
04:33had told BBC that it has come to their attention that their products may have been misused in
04:38connection with illegal substances and the company does not use or condone the use of any
04:43illegal drugs in their products. We will work closely with law enforcement and relevant authorities
04:49to address this issue and protect the integrity of our brand, the firm said in a statement.
04:54Stephen Kay, the general manager of Rinda, reportedly told local news site Stuff New Zealand
05:00that the contaminated candy he had seen in photos was white, whereas Rinda's product is yellow.
05:06The authorities are still trying to understand the scale of the spread.
05:10Sixteen packets have been recovered so far. Police say each packet could possibly contain
05:1520 to 30 sweets but they don't know the exact number in the 16 packets.
05:20Up to 400 people have been contacted by the charity. Robinson said the sweets likely came
05:25into the charity's possession in about mid-July, but that they are calling everyone as far back
05:30as the 1st of July to be safe. Ben Baxham, deputy director of the New Zealand Drug Foundation,
05:37said the organisation believed the incident was unlikely to be intentional as disclosing
05:42substances as something else to smuggle it into another area is common. While there are still
05:48fears that other charities could be affected, Robinson said she had contacted other charities
05:54to check for their sweets. To say we are devastated is an absolute understatement,
05:59she told the press, adding that one in five in New Zealand experience food insecurity,
06:04which makes the incident deeply distressing, according to BBC.