More dangerous Halloween sweets discovered - also abroad

After Halloween, further cases of candy containing needles, screws or other metal objects have been reported. There were corresponding reports of such discoveries in several federal states.

In Duderstadt, Lower Saxony, an eleven-year-old discovered a chocolate bar studded with a needle, and in Höxter, North Rhine-Westphalia, a father noticed a piece of metal in an ice cream confectionery. In Pilsting, Lower Bavaria, a needle was found in a candy and a wire-like object. In Lower Franconia, the police reported three new discoveries: there were needles stuck in two chocolate bars and a sharp-edged metal part in a piece of fruit gum.

According to preliminary figures from the Bavarian police, significantly more sweets laced with dangerous objects were discovered in the Free State on Halloween than in the previous year. The Bavarian State Criminal Police Office (LKA) said research in the police's case management system has revealed 25 cases of sweets containing needles, screws and nails for the current year. Other items were not queried, so the number of unreported cases could be significantly higher.

Children easily injured by needles

A child from Neustadt-Glewe in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district sustained minor injuries to the mouth area from a hidden needle, the police said. In Bremervörde, Lower Saxony, a nine-year-old injured her tongue on a five-centimeter-long pin in a chocolate bar.

The police called on all parents to check the children's sweets and report any suspicious cases. With a view to St. Martin's Day on November 11th, the Düsseldorf police also urged people to be particularly careful. “We cannot rule out the possibility that some people are free riders and want to have some apparent fun,” said a spokeswoman.

Finds in several European countries

Finds of prepared sweets were not only known in Germany - small metal objects in sweets were also reported in several federal states in Austria. According to Austrian authorities, a girl suffered minor injuries.

At a press conference, Austria's Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said: "We will do everything humanly possible to solve this cowardly and dastardly crime." As a result, an investigation unit was set up in the Federal Criminal Police Office in Vienna. It should also establish contact with German authorities and Europol.

There were similar reports of manipulated sweets from other countries. In Norway, a 13-year-old girl found a needle in a licorice stick, and another girl discovered a needle in a chocolate bar. In Ireland, small metal pins have been found in sweets in at least three towns. In Denmark there were individual cases in the greater Copenhagen area. Hungary is also said to be affected.

Were perpetrators connected online?

Gerald Tatzgern, head of investigations at the Austrian Federal Criminal Police Office, said: It cannot be ruled out that the perpetrators were networked on the Internet, in social media or in online forums.

In Germany, the Rhineland-Palatinate State Ministry of the Interior announced that there is currently no information that “suggests a systematic or nationwide coordinated approach.”

Europol told the dpa news agency that it would support the national authorities in the investigation, but did not want to set up its own task force.