Police solve seven Halloween candy tampering reports, including Salzburg case

Austria’s Federal Criminal Police Office has resolved three more reports of allegedly tampered Halloween sweets, bringing the total to seven of 28 cases reported nationwide, ORF reports. Children are suspected of adding needles, nails or other metal objects to the treats themselves.

The children reportedly acted after hearing about similar cases online, in traditional media or on social media. In most of the resolved cases, warning videos aimed at parents and shared on Instagram and other platforms gave them the idea, the police said.

The authorities received nine reports from Upper Austria, eight each from Lower Austria and Styria, two from Vienna and one from Salzburg. Of the seven resolved cases, two were in Upper Austria and two in Styria, with one each in Lower Austria, Vienna and Salzburg.

In Salzburg, a 10-year-old boy from the Parsch district had said he found a needle inside a chocolate bar on Halloween. After questioning him again, police now suspect he was responsible, based on the latest findings.

The Federal Criminal Police Office’s Treat investigation group and the provincial criminal investigation offices are continuing to examine the open cases. Police said the findings so far do not justify drawing general conclusions about the remaining reports. Investigators are working to distinguish actual tampering from copycat acts and to check for links between cases.

Police warned against tampering with sweets or copying such acts as a joke. Depending on the circumstances, criminal consequences may follow. In Vienna, a 14-year-old has already been reported on suspicion of falsely claiming that a punishable offence had taken place.