Police have issued a warning over drug dealers injecting or lacing THC - which is found in cannabis - into cookies, cakes, chocolates, sweets and even seaside rock.
The Nottinghamshire Police archive and exhibits department - which test most of the drugs are seized by the force - say “cannabis is still the number one recreational drug in Notts”. But new areas have been explored by drug dealers, the force said.
Some dealers went as far as manufacturing their own packaging including 'Zoot Pastilles' and ‘Dorweedos’ which look just like a popular brand of crisps. Officers are concerned these drugs could be marketed to young people and are actively clamping down on those who peddle this product.
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These products have also been tested in the lab, with some coming back with traces of pesticides, detergents, hair spray and small traces of rat poison. Criminals have also been manufacturing packaging for 'Ganja Rock'. Officer David Richardson said: “This year alone we have incinerated up to £90m of drugs and that is the largest amount the force has ever done.
“These drugs are from recent jobs or historic jobs over the last two years, which have been stored while an investigation reaches its conclusion. There is a current trend where they are putting cannabis, THC, into cookies, cakes, chocolates and sweets but they have been mixed with other nasty things such as fly spray and one test came back with traces of rat poison.
“We are getting what we describe as cannabis edibles on a weekly basis. People have started doing their own and are more aware of how to do it through social media. We had one case where a woman from Nottinghamshire was making cannabis cakes for her own circle of friends.
“The cannabis market is evolving and those who sell this drug are trying to get one foot ahead of us. They think officers will assume they are just carrying chocolate bars or crisps but on closer inspection we know that is not the case. The problem, and concern for us as a force, is innocent people get involved and children could be attracted to it. We don’t want that to happen.”
The £90m-worth of drugs incinerated this year is a record amount for Nottinghamshire Police. In 2016, the force said the combined street value of all the cannabis seized was around £6m. This has now jumped up to well over £20m a year.
On average, 300 to 500 drug items will pass through the department a week, which also includes heroin, crack cocaine, amphetamine, cocaine, cannabis, cannabis edibles and cannabis plants. The team says cocaine is still a popular recreational drug in Nottinghamshire, but the purity is very poor, and it is mixed with many cutting agents which are found once examined at the lab.
Mr Richardson added: “The whole of Nottinghamshire Police should be proud of their efforts. It has been a collaborative effort with all departments coming together."
The department has also trained more than 170 officers in field testing so they can test seized drugs straight away, which leads to a quicker charge. He added: “Cannabis is not getting worse - we are just getting better at finding the drugs. These teams are squeezing the drugs market and are massively proactive.
“We thought we might experience a dip during the pandemic, but we have not had that. We have just got busier. When people say ‘why don’t you just legalise cannabis, they don’t see the adverse effect it has on families, the local community, mental health, and the massive burden it has on the struggling NHS.
“Also, the money that criminals generate from drugs it just fuels more criminal activity.” Sergeant Rob Spry, who leads the archive and exhibits department, said: “Cannabis seizures forms a massive part of our work.
“Drugs have a massive impact on our communities. It is linked to serious organised crime, violence, and modern slavery, with cannabis gardeners brought to Nottingham from overseas and forced to work in horrendous conditions. Cannabis grows in residential properties are also extremely dangerous with electricity bypassed making it a fire hazard.
“Drug dealers are making significant amounts of money from their illegal behaviour, and it is not fair on the law-abiding members of our community and therefore the force will continue to pursue those involved in this criminality.”
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