Police are reminding parents to carefully check their children’s Halloween candy after local police services received reports of tampered treats across the country following Monday night’s trick-or-treating.

Razor blade in Halifax, N.S.

Halifax police are investigating after a 12-year-old boy in Halifax reportedly cut his thumb on a razor blade stuck in a chocolate bar when he was sifting through his bag of candy. Pat Kavanaugh posted a photo of his son’s bloody thumb to social media to warn other parents.

Police said the boy visited about 150 different residences in the Governor’s Brook area of Spryfield, just outside Halifax, while he was trick-or-treating on Monday night. They said they can’t say conclusively where the blade came from yet. Halifax Regional Police spokesperson, Const. Dianne Woodworth, said it’s very difficult to solve cases such as these because of a lack of forensic evidence.

tampered candy

Mini liquor bottle in Milton, Ont.

Halton police said a 12-year-old girl returned home from trick-or-treating in Milton, Ont. on Monday night with a mini liquor bottle in her bag. The girl’s mother discovered the Bacardi bottle filled with an unknown clear fluid while she was inspecting her daughter’s candy, according to police. The mother told police the bottle was leaking because the seal had been tampered with.

Police haven’t determined if the bottle contained alcohol or a different substance. They sent the liquor bottle away to be analyzed.

Halton police have asked parents who had children trick-or-treating near Childs Drive and Ledwith Drive to be extra vigilant about checking candy because they believe the girl likely picked up the bottle somewhere in that area.

Mini liquor bottle

Syringe in Brandon, Man.

Brandon Police Service said they responded to a report of a syringe discovered in a trick-or-treat bag in Brandon, Man. on Monday evening. Police said a 13-year-old girl and a 15-year-old girl found the unused syringe in a treat bag after they returned home. The case is still under investigation, according to police.

Prescription pills in St. Catharines, Ont.

Niagara Regional Police said they spoke to a concerned parent in the Western Hill area of St. Catharines, Ont. on Monday evening after four loose prescription pills were discovered in their child’s Halloween candy. Police said the prescription pills were determined to be muscle relaxants used to treat symptoms of multiple sclerosis.

Police listed the streets the child was believed to have trick-or-treated on their website. They urged anyone with information related to the incident to call the St. Catharines Criminal Investigation Branch of Niagara Regional Police.

Detergent pods in Toronto

Several children in one Toronto neighbourhood found dishwasher detergent pods in their trick-or-treat bags. Police say the pods appeared to be distributed in the Prescott Avenue, Blackthorn Avenue and Rockwell Avenue areas of the city.

“The pods could be harmful, if ingested, especially to children,” police said in a news release. “If swallowed, detergent in even small amounts can be caustic and cause burns to the mouth, throat and airways.”

Needle in Windsor, Ont.

A Windsor mother says she found a sharp needle inside a chocolate bar her daughter brought home as part of her Halloween haul. Angela Magyar posted a warning to other parents on social media, but did not report the incident to police. She told CTV Windsor that she threw out the rest of her daughter’s candy as a precaution.

Sewing needles in Morley, Alta.

Cochrane RCMP are investigating after the parent of a 12-year-old child in Morley, Alta. discovered two sewing needles hidden inside two chocolate bars. Amanda Goodstoney told CTV Calgary on Wednesday that her child went out trick-or-treating with family and friends in Cochrane, Alta. on Monday night. She said she found one needle in a large Oh Henry! bar and a second one in a large Kit Kat bar while she was examining her children’s Halloween candy. Goodstoney said the incident has ruined Halloween for her family.

“It’s just not worth it, it’s not worth putting my kids at risk anymore,” she said.

The RCMP are still trying to find the address where the chocolate bars were handed out and have appealed to the public for help.

Tainted Candy

Needle in Dartmouth, N.S.

A family in Dartmouth, N.S. contacted Halifax Regional Police on Saturday, after a man bit down on a needle while eating a chocolate bar his grandson had collected during trick-or-treating on Halloween the week before. The man told police that he felt a sharp pain in his mouth when he began chewing on the candy bar and when he removed it from his mouth he discovered a small needle with a yellow plastic ball on the tip. Police said the child had been trick-or-treating in the Waynewood Drive, Brompton Road and Bonnie Brae Trailer Park area of Dartmouth.