When you buy your kids toys, you try and be really careful about whether they're safe for them. People have come to trust big brands like Mattel for having tried and tested products. After all, a lot of parents played with Barbies as kids, right? But it's important to be extra vigilant.
As reported by CBS News, fentanyl was found inside Barbie doll packaging at a discount store in Independence, Missouri. They were first alerted to the incident on Saturday, March 21.
The Independence Police Department released a statement on
After working with the discount store, all five fentanyl-laced Barbies were found to have already been sold. But, thanks to the quick work of the police, they were all found within a matter of hours.
Luckily, this doesn't seem to be connected to anything wider at the moment. But, the investigation is still ongoing.
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Criminals Have Been Getting Creative With How They Transport Drugs
And it's not just Barbie dolls that criminals are using to smuggle and transport drugs.
A report from The New York Times has revealed that criminals have been transforming the drugs market. They've been finding ways to make dangerous drugs almost indistinguishable from everyday products.
The report mentions drugs such as fentanyl, as well as synthetic products, have been sprayed onto paper to be smuggled into places like prisons. They revealed that even the least suspicious legal document or book could harbor extremely dangerous products.
And the hunt for finding the drugs has been "maddening". Specialized labs are required to perform the tests—and they don't operate quickly. Because the nature of the drugs isn't known all that well, and the drugs can be literally everywhere, the police are having a hard time tracking down where they might be, especially in prisons.
We're glad that the Barbie incident wasn't a big one, and we also hope that this doesn't become a wider problem.
