Homeless charity unknowingly hands out sweets containing ‘potentially lethal’ dose of meth

Authorities are trying to track down the sweets

Over 400 people are reported to have been recipients of packages that contained the sweets after three people were taken to hospital following consumption, but were later discharged Newstalk reports.

Auckland City Missioner Helen Robinson said eight families, including one child, had reported eating them, but the "revolting" taste meant many spat them out.

The New Zealand Drug Foundation said the sweets contained up to 300 times the normal dosage of the addictive stimulant drug, and that it had the potential to be lethal.

The sweets themselves were branded as Rinda, a Malaysian brand, and said that they were pineapple flavoured.

A spokesperson for the New Zealand Drug Foundation, Ben Birks Ang, said that each sweet's street value is €551.

He added that this means the donation of the treats to the charity was likely a mistake, rather than anything malicious.

The candies were believed to have been donated at some point in the last six weeks.

So far, 16 sweets have been recovered, but it is not known how many are still out there.

“To say that we are devastated in an understatement,” Robinson said.