Police probe tampered Halloween sweets as children suspected in some cases

Police in Bavaria are investigating around 30 reports of Halloween sweets containing dangerous objects, while children are suspected in some cases in Germany and Austria, BR reports.

In Erding, 11-year-old Suzanna Janczak said she found a long needle inside a Maoam fruit sweet the day after Halloween. She had eaten about half of it before noticing something hard. The sweet has been handed to Erding police, whose investigation was still ongoing as of Thursday evening.

Her mother, Zaneta Janczak, has reported the case to police. She said she had accompanied her daughter and her friends while they collected sweets, and did not believe they were responsible. No one was hurt. The family plans to celebrate Halloween at home with friends next year rather than going door to door.

Investigators in Neuburg an der Donau, Nuremberg and Eibelstadt have also reported cases in which children may have tampered with sweets themselves. In Austria, investigators believe children were likely responsible in four of 21 reported cases, according to the Federal Criminal Police Office in Vienna.

Kolja Schiltz, a professor of forensic psychiatry at LMU Munich, said reports of poisoned Halloween sweets have circulated in the United States for more than a century. He described them as part of the “poisoned candy myth”. Reports of tampered sweets have also appeared in Germany in previous years.

Police are also investigating whether social media may have played a role. Videos on YouTube and TikTok show sweets with needles or other objects inside and advise children to check their treats with magnets.