BRUNSWICK, ME - OCTOBER 21: Christine bakes with leftover Halloween candy. (Photo by Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)
Law enforcement are warning parents about dangerous and deadly drugs being mixed in with their children’s Halloween candy this year following a massive fentanyl bust at Los Angeles Airport this week.
Someone attempted to get through security at LAX with bags of candy that contained upwards of 12,000 fentanyl pulls early Wednesday morning. The opiates were packed inside Skittles, Whoppers and SweeTarts candy, according to ABC 7.
The suspect managed to flee, but has since been identified.
The bust sparks new calls for parents to be cautious this Halloween about candy their children bring home, after multiple reports this year of fentanyl manufactured in rainbow colors or in this case, disguised in candy wrappers, all in an effort to appeal to a younger demographic.
“With Halloween approaching, parents need to make sure they are checking their kids candy and not allowing them to eat anything until it has been inspected by them,” the Sheriff’s Department said.”If you find anything in candy boxes that you believe might be narcotics, do not touch it and immediately notify your local law enforcement agency.”
Just last month, authorities in Pasadena announced the seizure of over 300,000 fentanyl pills, with many coming in the rainbow-colored variety.
The deadly drugs were seized on September 24, along with a ghost gun and about four pounds of cocaine, according to the Pasadena Police Department.
The department added that the candy-colored fentanyl appears to be a new method used by drug cartels to attract children and young people.
So far this year, Pasadena police have seized approximately 708,500 fentanyl pills, according to a press release.
Meanwhile in Whittier, police seized eight pounds of pills laced with fentanyl.
Police are now encouraging parents to talk with their kids about the fentanyl problem, as only one pill can be deadly.
So deadly, in fact, that The Shade Room reported in August that morgues across the country are running out of space to house bodies due to the ongoing rise in fatal fentanyl overdoses.
The New York Post reports, in 2021 alone, there were more than 63,000 overdose deaths related to fentanyl, which is now causing a serious problem for morgues nationwide.
Many coroner’s offices in the U.S. (including Indianapolis and Chicago) reportedly say that as the death tolls from fentanyl continue to pile up, they are simply running out of space to put the bodies.
Cook County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Ponni Arunkumar explained just how disturbing the fentanyl overdose rate has become. “The most common non-natural death is opioids, it’s more than our number of homicides, more than our number of traffic accidents.”
