KOZHIKODE: The toffees that are being sold on the premises of schools are sending panic waves among parents, as they carry the message ‘not recommended for children’. On Thursday, a PTA president of a higher secondary school in the district, approached the Health department with samples, demanding why these toffees were being sold on school premises where children have easy access to them. PTA president of Thiruvangoor Higher Secondary School Madanchery Sathyanathan said that officials had promised to conduct a raid on shops suspected of selling such toffees.
Mr Sathyanathan added also that there were shops secretly selling tobacco products to the students. The Excise department confirmed that they had been receiving complaints regarding the same toffees from various parts of the district. “We have sent the samples to the laboratories to confirm the presence of narcotics in it. Once the reports are ready, we will take necessary action,” said Excise deputy Commissioner P.K. Suresh. Already there were reports that by the time undercover cops reached the spot where drugged toffees were being sold, the sweets were being replaced by innocuous ones.
Earlier, Excise officials in Palakkad had seized 24 bottles of mouth spray in different flavours, which were being sold along with other Chinese products. The bottles, 4-inch in height, were strawberry, orange and apple-flavoured. Looking like mouthsprays, they are not viewed as drugs, but tingle when sprayed into the mouth. Even shop owners did not have details of the product, as they come along with other Chinese products, officials said.
