Law enforcement in Southern California made a startling discovery this week when airport security officers opened bags of popular Halloween candy belonging to a passenger at Los Angeles International Airport, only to find hoards of fentanyl hidden inside.
With just days until millions of children and teenagers go door to door trick-or-treating for Halloween, officials warned of the risk that the drug could be consumed unknowingly by youth and lead to a mass casualty event.
On Wednesday morning, Transportation Security Administration officers at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) detained a passenger attempting to pass through the security checkpoint. The passenger was carrying a bag filled with what appeared to be a variety of candy, including Whoppers, SweeTarts, Skittles, and Life Savers.
“The suspect attempted to go through TSA screening with several bags of candy and miscellaneous snacks with the intent of boarding a plane,” the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement. “However, it was discovered that inside the ‘Sweetarts’, ‘Skittles’, and ‘Whoppers’ candy boxes were fentanyl pills and not candy.”
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Detectives with the LA County Sheriff’s Department’s Narcotics Bureau and federal agents from the Drug Enforcement Agency immediately responded to calls from TSA and descended on the airport.
The unidentified suspect fled the security checkpoint but was later apprehended by police.
The pills and candy bags were confiscated and counted. Roughly 12,000 suspected fentanyl pills were found in the candy bags, though police have yet to test and confirm the contents.
The sheriff’s department cited the incident as a warning as Halloween approaches and urged parents to check each piece of candy before letting children eat it.
The discovery comes days after 13 Republican senators issued a public service announcement calling attention to the potential for drug cartels in Mexico, as well as smugglers and dealers in the United States, to wreak havoc on the public through the distribution of colorful pills to unsuspecting individuals.
“Fake pills laced with fentanyl are beginning to look like candy in an effort to lure young Americans. This is also known as ‘rainbow fentanyl,'” the senators said in the video. “Rainbow fentanyl comes in a variety of bright colors, shapes, and sizes, including pills, powder, and blocks that resemble sidewalk chalk. According to the DEA, these pills are a ‘deliberate effort by drug traffickers to drive addiction amongst kids and young adults.’”
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Approximately 90% of fentanyl seized this year from drug smugglers attempting to move it into the United States occurred at the southern border’s land ports of entry, where vehicles and pedestrians are inspected before being admitted.
