Santiago airport worker in coma after eating cannabis-laced gummies given by colleague
Seven employees in the cargo area of Arturo Merino Benítez Airport were poisoned. One remains intubated in an induced coma at Félix Bulnes Hospital.
Seven intoxicated at Santiago airport cargo terminal after consuming THC-containing gummies
Seven workers in the cargo sector of Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport in the municipality of Pudahuel suffered acute poisoning after consuming sugary gummies with high THC content that a colleague distributed during their work shift, according to elpais.com. One of those affected remains intubated and in an induced coma at Félix Bulnes Hospital; the remaining six have been discharged.
The incident occurred last Tuesday afternoon, when an adult Chilean worker with no criminal record distributed confectionery items—gummies and chocolate—containing cannabis amongst his colleagues. Within minutes, those affected began experiencing nausea, dizziness and vomiting. The direct supervisors of the employees filed a complaint with the 27th Carabineros Airport Police Station. The seven poisoned workers were taken to ACHS Worker's Hospital for emergency medical attention, whilst uniformed officers detained the person responsible at the scene.
Major Priscila Aguilar, commissioner of the 27th Airport Police Station, indicated that "there remained within the container of this product four gummies and a chocolate, which have now been made available to the relevant forensic tests to definitively determine the derived substance".
Specialised personnel from the Carabineros Anti-Drug Department OS7 travelled to the premises to analyse the product, which reportedly had been delivered in its original commercial packaging. Captain of that unit Belén Galaz confirmed the presence of the illicit substance: they were "in simple terms, gummies that contained marijuana". The evidence gathered suggests the poisoning was not premeditated; the detainee himself also reportedly consumed the confectionery during the same shift.
The samples will also be sent to the Public Health Institute. "We are not ruling out that they could contain other types of substances given the effects they caused in these individuals. It is also important for Carabineros to see where this person acquired these gummies, whether more were sold commercially," Galaz stated. The officer clarified that in previous operations confectionery with drugs had already been detected, although without causing such serious health reactions as those recorded at the airport.
The Western Metropolitan Prosecutor's Office will formalise charges against the detainee for the crimes of drug micro-trafficking and injuries of varying severity. Flagrante delicto prosecutor Paz Escobar detailed that "a complaint was received from the 27th Carabineros Police Station where an airport employee was detained for having supplied around seven work colleagues with gummies containing high THC content".
Source: Google News CL — Crime