The European Anti-Fraud Office completed an enquiry into gummies containing THC, the main psychoactive substance in cannabis, sold in counterfeit packs infringing a very well-known European gummy brand.[1] French Customs reported two consignments originating in the United States and destined for the Netherlands in support of the enquiry.[1][2] The consignments contained 3,560 packs of gummies, of which 3,213 copied the look of a popular brand using altered lettering to resemble its original name.[1][2] All of the packs were seized and destroyed.[1][2]
The investigation also led to the identification of multiple online vendors selling this type of product.[1][2] OLAF’s intelligence enabled the rights-holder to take appropriate action against the sellers concerned.[1] OLAF also identified a number of websites and physical retail outlets in France offering illicit psychoactive or narcotic products.[1][2] That intelligence was transmitted to the French authorities for assessment and possible action, and no arrests or criminal charges are named in the accounts.[1]
Products of this kind are produced abroad without any regard to the safety, labelling and quality rules that apply in the European Union.[1] Consumers have no reliable information about the fact that the gummies contain THC, or about the other ingredients or the conditions in which the gummies were made.[1][2] The familiar packaging gives a false impression of a safe, ordinary product, and a single portion may contain a dose of THC that the consumer neither expects nor is able to assess.[1] Gummies are consumed widely by children, and OLAF Director-General Petr Klement warned that such counterfeits can put health and safety at risk, especially for children.[1][2] A Taiwan LIFE report summarised the episode as gummies from the United States containing fake THC found in the European market, raising cross-border food-safety and drug-trafficking alarms.[3]
