Drug dealers flood Britain with cannabis-laced sweets disguised as Kinder Eggs, Mars Bars and Haribo
DRUG dealers are flooding the country with cannabis-laced sweets disguised at Kinder Eggs, Mars Bars and Haribo jellies.
A Sun Online probe can reveal sales of the drugs are soaring - with exchanges even freely taking place on Instagram and Snapchat.
Dozens of UK dealers are also trading online - flogging what they claim are “treats”.
In fact the items - which are also being branded to look like Starburst and Jelly Babies - can contain dangerous levels of concentrated THC, the psychoactive ingredient of cannabis.
Our story comes a day after a haul of cannabis sweets were seized in Liverpool.
Merseyside Police said the packets "clearly designed to appeal to younger people" were found inside a property in the city on Friday night.
CANNABIS SWEET 'TREATS'
Packets and bottles containing suspected cannabis, made to look like sweets, were found with the packaging plastered with brand names like Chewits, Irn-Bru, Tango and Fruit-tella.
A 16-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply cannabis.
But our investigation indicates this case is just the tip of the iceberg.
One social media account we found had more than 100,000 members - thousands of them UK-based.
The same network hosted chatrooms for 48 cannabis dealers running groups aimed at UK buyers that operate an innovative robotic ordering system.
They act as virtual vending machines where users can buy items securely with a series of simple text messages sent from a mobile phone.
Twenty of those selling the items were based in Britain and many offered next day delivery.
Dealers also use Instagram and Snapchat to advertise their wares.
The market for so-called cannabis “edibles”, or “medibles”, has rocketed as an alternative way of consuming cannabis without smoking or vaping.
And demand has soared during lockdown with items posted to addresses across lockdown Britain.
Products being sold included sweets branded “Caribo”.
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Another product was packaged to look like Starburst sweets but carried the name “Starbuds”.
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Also on offer were small THC-laced packs of “Wonka” chocolate bars - based on the classic film - for £14; bags of infused Kinder mini-eggs for £25, and cannabis-laced fun-sized Mars and Snickers bars costing £28 for a pack of 10.
Drug experts fear kids consume entire bags at once - meaning they ingest dangerous level of THC.