Halloween, the terrible discovery in children’s sweets: hidden needles and screws, is the hunt for those responsible in Germany

Halloween should be an evening of dressing up, pranks and fun. Regardless of what one may think of this party, now in Germany, as in many other countries, it has become a much awaited occasion for children who dress up, knock on doors in the neighborhood and return home with bags full of sweets, chocolates and sweets. A carefree ritual that should end with a sugar rush and lots of fun memories.

This year, however, for several German families the night of October 31st turned into something different. Sewing needles, screws, metal paper clips and other sharp objects were found in the sweets collected by the children, hidden inside chocolate bars, gummies and packaged snacks. And it was not a single isolated episode, the reports have in fact multiplied in numerous regions of Germany, so much so as to push several police forces to open investigations and launch urgent appeals to parents.

A story that is difficult even to tell, because someone transformed a moment of celebration for the little ones into an opportunity to deliberately put their safety at risk.

The cases

The first reports came from Thuringia, where in Wintzingerode, in the Eichsfeld district, some children discovered metal needles inside the sweets received during the traditional Halloween tour. Nordhausen police said that, given the circumstances, they believe the foreign bodies were inserted intentionally to cause injury. An investigation into attempted dangerous bodily harm was then opened.

A similar episode was also reported in Herbsleben, also in Thuringia, where a needle was found in a gummy sweet. In this case, investigators are trying to reconstruct in which house the sweet may have been distributed.

But the story didn’t stop there. In Nuremberg, Bavaria, some children found small needles inside chocolate bars collected during the evening. One of them had already bitten the sweet when he noticed the presence of the metal object. Fortunately he was not injured.

In Umpferstedt, near Weimar, metal paper clips were found inserted into gummy sweets. Again the children were unharmed, but the objects were difficult to spot at first glance.

Similar incidents have also been reported in other areas of the country. In Rielasingen-Worblingen, Baden-Württemberg, some families found metal bodies inside individually wrapped pods. In Lower Saxony, in Hanover, a 9-year-old girl brought home three sweets containing as many sewing needles: one was in a chocolate bar and the other two in gummy sweets. The mother then disposed of the rest of the sweets collected as a precaution.

In Saxony-Anhalt, in Burg, a family found several surprises that were anything but pleasant among the sweets collected by their children: screws and one-cent coins. The police have also launched an investigation in this case.

Among the cases that have emerged, there is one that is particularly worrying. In Bremervörde, Lower Saxony, a 9-year-old girl bit a chocolate bar into which a pin at least 5 centimeters long had been inserted. The little girl hurt her tongue.

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And it’s not over yet. On November 3, the Rostock police announced that they had received four more reports of sweets containing metal needles in the areas of Gadebusch, Carlow, Neustadt-Glewe and Schönberg. In one of these incidents, a child suffered a minor injury to his mouth.

Who tampered with the sweets and why?

It’s the most disturbing question, but at the moment there is no answer. Law enforcement agencies are investigating in several German regions and in many cases hypothesize that objects were deliberately inserted into products, with the aim of causing injuries.

However, it is not yet clear who is behind these gestures, what the motive is and above all whether the different episodes are connected to each other. We cannot therefore speak of a single coordinated action nor attribute responsibility to a person or a group.

There is also a practical problem for investigators: the children collected sweets by knocking on many different doors and often do not remember exactly where they received each product. Reconstructing the origin of the tampered with snacks is therefore not easy.

The police appeal

Faced with the multiplication of reports, the German authorities have invited parents to carefully check the sweets collected by children before letting them eat.

You must pay particular attention to the packaging, looking for any holes, signs of tampering, tears or other anomalies. But that’s not all: some metal objects may have been inserted without leaving marks easily visible from the outside.

If you find a suspicious treat, you should not consume it or attempt to remove the object. The recommendation is to keep it together with the packaging and contact the police, so as to allow investigations.

Whether you like Halloween or not, whether you agree with this tradition or not, there is one thing that should be taken for granted: children must be able to experience an evening of fun without someone turning a piece of candy into a trap.

Sources: Polizeiinspektion Rotenburg / Polizeipräsidium Rostock