Cape Town - A Facebook post about a “deadly new drug” resembling sweets went viral on social media, but police say they have never heard of it before.
The Facebook group Mitchells Plain Gangwatch posted the photo and a message warning parents that the “drug” is being distributed at schools.
The colourful sweets come in shapes of dominos, a white skull, an orange triangle with the S from Superman and round green ones with bells on.
The message said the group were not sure what the new “drug” was called, but that it was lethal, and would “kill your child”.
People who commented on the post said they thought the tablets could be ecstasy.
However, authorities are not aware of the new drug.
On Tuesday, Major General Greg Goss, who heads both Mitchells Plain and Lentegeur police stations, said their intelligence teams have not seen the drugs on the streets of Cape Town.
Goss said: “I also saw the post on Facebook and I’ve asked my intelligence team to look into it. I do not have knowledge about this drug.”
Michael Jacobs of the Mitchells Plain Cluster Board said that they have received no alerts from schools about any new drugs: “As far as I know, no school prior to the holidays sent out any alerts of these kinds of drugs.
“SAPS also cannot confirm if this drug was ever confiscated from children at school.”
A quick internet search revealed the message was first posted by an American man last month, in the run-up to annual Halloween celebrations this month.
Facebook user Thomas Chizzo Bagwell warned his family and friends: “If your kids get these for halloween, it’s not candy.”
His warning is apparently based on a long-held, but so far baseless, fear that some people tamper with sweets before handing them out to children.
Daily Voice