Thane constable makes Instagram reel claiming meth-laced candy is targeting students, but police confirm no such cases have surfaced in MMR
The reported strawberry quick drug-shaped like a teddy bear
Thane City Police constable Anjali Umesh Gawde recently issued a warning via an Instagram reel about a drug called ‘Strawberry Quick,’ claiming that the strawberry-flavoured form of methamphetamine (MDMA, also known as ecstasy) is being widely sold outside college premises. She urged students and parents to remain vigilant.
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mid-day cross-checked with police authorities to verify if any such cases had been reported in Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, or the wider Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). While law enforcement agencies continue their crackdown on narcotics such as MDMA, mephedrone, and LSD, there have been no reported cases of these drugs being distributed in school environments. This makes the video by the Thane police constable an instance of unverified information presented using unsubstantiated claims, posing as a social media warning.
Screengrab of the reel made by Constable Anjali Umesh Gawde
In the reel, the cop, in the caption, wrote, “New drug in schools: Please pass this on even if you do not have kids in school. Parents should know about this drug. This is a new drug known as ‘strawberry quick’. This is a very scary thing going on in the schools right now that we all need to be aware of. There is a type of crystal meth going around that looks like strawberry pop rocks (the candy that sizzles and ‘pops’ in your mouth). It also smells like strawberry and it is being handed out to kids in school yards.
They are calling it strawberry meth or strawberry quick. Kids are ingesting this thinking that it is candy and being rushed off to the hospital in dire condition. It also comes in chocolate, peanut butter, cola, cherry, grape and orange flavours. Please instruct your children not to accept candy from strangers and even not to accept candy that looks like this from a friend (who may have been given it and believed it is candy) and to take any that they may have to a teacher, principal, etc. Immediately pass this message on to as many people as you can.” The caption ended with multiple ‘trending’ hashtags like #viralvideos, #viralreels, #reelitfeelit, etc.
‘Pic is a stock photo’
Senior police inspector Rahul Mhaske of the Anti-Narcotics Cell, Thane, confirmed that the image of the pink, teddy bear-shaped pill is a stock photo. “The image is from an old case abroad, dating back to 2017. It has no relevance here, and no such cases have been reported to substantiate the claims made in the video,” said Mhaske.
In 2017, four 13-year-old schoolgirls in Manchester, England, were reportedly hospitalised after consuming similar pink, teddy bear-shaped pills. Before the Maharashtra Police dismissed the existence of “strawberry quick,” the Arunachal Pradesh Police had also urged citizens to ignore viral social media messages claiming that drug-laced candy was being distributed to schoolchildren. The police clarified that this hoax first surfaced in 2007 in the United States.
Amarsingh Jadhav, deputy commissioner of police, Thane, confirmed that no such cases have been reported in Thane and assured that he would look into the Instagram reel. Meanwhile, senior officials from the Mumbai Police also confirmed to mid-day that no cases of “strawberry quick” have been reported in the island city.
Anjali Gawde has over 61.7K followers on her Instagram profile, and this reel has garnered a whopping 2.8 million views and 69k likes. While no cases of “strawberry quick” have been reported in the MMR, law enforcers have seized a significant amount of MDMA, which is the same type of drug as ecstasy, a habit-forming substance. Selling these types of drugs is a punishable offence under Section 22 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, which carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of at least Rs 1 lakh.
Parents speak
mid-day spoke to a couple of parents, the target audience of the video, to gauge their reactions. “I was terrified. My first thought was, what if my daughter, being the naive girl, she is, mistakes the drug for candy? Since she was little, my husband and I have always told her not to accept anything from strangers. Now, we will be even more cautious to ensure her safety,” said Sulekha Rajput, a Kalyan resident whose daughter studies at a Ghatkopar-based college.
Meanwhile, another parent from Chembur said she came across the viral video two days ago and immediately believed it to be authentic, as the creator was a uniformed police officer. “She was in uniform—why would she make it up? That’s what I thought. I asked my son about it, and he said it’s all baseless rumours. He even assured me—swearing on me, his mother—that if such a situation ever arises, he will be careful. But as parents, we can’t help but worry about our child’s safety and well-being,” said the parent, whose son is currently studying at St. Andrew’s College in Bandra. At the end of the conversation, mid-day assured both the parents that the video was a hoax and that there was no reason to panic.
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