Emily Brown
West Yorkshire Police have issued a warning to chocolate lovers after coming across fake versions of popular Christmas sweets.
Christmas is just two days away - here's your reminder, if you've still not done your Christmas shopping - and households across the UK are now finally starting to crack open the tubs of Celebrations and Quality Streets that have been saved exactly for this moment.
These kinds of chocolates can sometimes be offered out as Christmas treats in shops like hairdressers or post offices, but authorities are urging people to think twice about the source of the chocolate before satiating your sweet tooth.
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On 17 December, West Yorkshire Police stopped and searched a vehicle and came across drugs that had been disguised as some of the chocolate brands that we love to stuff ourselves with over the holidays.
The substance was disguised with names such as 'Quality Heat', 'Calibrations' and 'Ammo Minis', rather than the usual and delicious Quality Street, Celebrations or Aero Minis.
The name change might not be noticeable at first glance, so police issued a warning to the public.
A spokesperson commented: "Please be vigilant if you see these, they can contain dangerous amounts of THC and people sometimes do not realise the danger of consuming these items."
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THC is the substance which is primarily responsible for the effects that marijuana can have on a user's mental state. While some cannabis plants contain very little THC, the fake chocolates contain higher levels which work to bind with receptors in the brain to produce a high or a sense of euphoria, Healthline explains.
Consuming THC can lead to side effect including increased heart rate, memory loss, slower reaction times, confusion, distress and even seizures or seizure-like activity.
The discovery of the fake chocolates earlier this week comes after police in West Yorkshire discovered £300,000 worth of edible cannabis which had been disguised by dealers in chocolate boxes.
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Dealers were thought to be trying to target children with the drugs, and they were expected to be distributed from West Yorkshire to areas across the country.
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Detective Supt Fiona Gaffney, head of Serious and Organised Crime at West Yorkshire Police, commented at the time: “County Lines and the organised crime linked to it has a significant impact on the people of West Yorkshire and the communities we serve. It’s linked to violence and the exploitation of many vulnerable people.
"Our aim is to disrupt these activities and to reassure people in our county that we won’t tolerate county lines criminality anywhere in West Yorkshire.”