Police in New Zealand are trying to track down candies containing "potentially lethal levels of methamphetamine" after they were distributed by an Auckland charity, BBC reports.
Up to 400 people may have received the sweets from the Auckland City Mission as part of a food parcel, the charity said.
The candies were donated anonymously by a member of the public in a sealed retail package, the organization said.
At least three people, including a child, have sought medical help after consuming the candy, but none are currently in hospital.
"We didn't know the candies contained methamphetamine when they were distributed," the charity's spokesperson told the BBC.
Each candy can have a market value of about NZ$1000 (about US$600), the NZ Drug Foundation, a non-governmental organization dealing with drug harm reduction and prevention, reportedly said.
The police have said that the incident may have been accidental and not a targeted operation and added that they cannot draw conclusions at the moment as "it is still early".
The charity alerted the authorities on Tuesday after being contacted by a person who had consumed the candy saying it "tastes strange".
Helen Robinson, chief executive of the Auckland City Mission, said some of the staff tried the sugars themselves and agreed with the complaints and started "feeling weird" afterwards.
They then sent the sugars to the NZ Drug Foundation. Testing by this organization confirmed potentially lethal levels of methamphetamine.
In a statement, the organization said they found about 3 grams of methamphetamine in each of the candies they tested.
The police have asked the people who have the candies wrapped in the yellow packaging of the brand "Rinda" with pineapple flavor to contact them immediately.
"It is vital that the public is aware of these sugars and the danger they pose," said Detective Glenn Baldwi at a press conference Wednesday.
VIDEO:
