A couple were shocked to discover mystery white powder and tobacco - inside a Poundland gift box. Callum Baker, 21, and Lily Tomlinson, 20, had bought the boxes to give Christmas presents in.
But, when they opened one up, they found find tobacco and a vial of white powder - which they believed to be amphetamine. Police said the powder was "unlikely" to be drugs but did not carry out tests.
Callum, an MOT tester from Chestersfield, said: “We were just shocked really. My girlfriend's first thought was that it could have been a kid who was helping their mum wrap Christmas presents who found it. It could have got into the wrong hands - easily.”
The pair bought the boxes - which were sealed in plastic - from a Poundland at Ravenside Retail Park in Chesterfield. They called police when they made the find.
Callum said: “All Lily did was go down to Poundland in the local town centre and buy a set of gift boxes to put Christmas presents in. It was all in plastic wrap so no one could put anything in.
"When she got home and unwrapped them one had [the powder] in and foreign tobacco. And, when she opened them and saw what was inside, she called the police and they took a few days to come out."
Callum claims that, when officers did arrive, they said it was amphetamine. But a spokesperson for Derbyshire Police said: “The force received a report that two suspicious items had been found in a box purchased from a shop in Chesterfield earlier this month.
“Both items have been destroyed, however, neither were tested for their contents as no further criminal investigation was to be carried out. One of the items was believed to be tobacco, the other was unable to be ascertained, however, from the information that was given by both the person who found the item and the officer who collected it, it is unlikely to have been amphetamine.”
A spokesperson for Poundland said: “We appreciate Lily and Callum telling us about what was in the Christmas box they bought at our Chesterfield store and we’re sorry for their unexpected surprise. We’ve been talking to them over the past couple of weeks so we could get to the bottom of what happened here.
“Obviously the box should have been empty and we asked the supplier why that wasn’t the case. We’ve had no similar reports but just to make sure, we’ve also checked other boxes in the same range - they’re all empty. So while this appears to be a one-off issue, we’re grateful they brought it to our attention.”
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