Malaysian company Rinda, who made the legitimate sweets, were fully co-operative with police. Photo: Supplied / Auckland City Mission
Police have charged a man for allegedly importing blocks of methamphetamine disguised as sweets.
It comes after potentially lethal doses of the drug were disguised as sweets and given out in Auckland last year.
Lollies containing a methamphetamine were unknowingly distributed in food parcels from the Auckland City Mission, after they were donated by a member of the public in August 2024.
Detective Sergeant Ilona Walton told RNZ a total of 34.5 meth lollies were found by police.
Lollies were collected from food parcel recipients or City Mission staff.
"Six individuals who received food parcels containing 'Rinda' lollies reported throwing lollies away, which were not recovered by police," Walton said.
"The total amount of lollies reported to have been disposed of by food parcel recipients is 15. However, there are other quantities of lollies that Auckland City Mission staff threw away, before becoming aware that these were 'meth lollies'."
Staff reported throwing chemically tasting lollies in the bin, but did not recall exactly how many, she said.
At the time, 15 people tasted the toxic lollies, six people reported experiencing side effects after tasting and spitting them out, and three required medical treatment, but not hospitalisation.
No deaths were reported as a result of the lollies.
Malaysian company Rinda, who made the legitimate sweets, were fully co-operative with police. Walton said police couldn't directly link anyone to the lollies donated to the Auckland City Mission.
During an independent National Organised Crime Group investigation, police identified and charged someone for importing three-gram blocks of meth, disguised as Rinda-brand lollies.
"There is insufficient evidence at this time, to link this person to the meth lollies distributed in Auckland City Mission food parcels," Walton said.
"The individual who has been charged in relation to other importing charges is a 32-year-old male."
Police did not believe the meth lollies were given to the Auckland City Mission in a deliberate attempt to cause harm.
"This belief is based on accounts provided by persons who inadvertently tasted a 'meth lolly', reporting that - due to the chemical taste - their immediate reflex action was to spit it out immediately," Walton said.
"[It] is further supported by the high street value of the methamphetamine contained in the methamphetamine lollies."
The 32-year-old man is expected to next appear in Auckland District Court next April.
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