The food at McDonald’s is not necessarily the healthiest, but we're all comforted by the fact that at least we’re not consuming anything illegal. Unfortunately, this mother cannot say the same. She went into the fast-food restaurant and ordered a Happy Meal for her child, but what she found inside the box shocked her.
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An illegal surprise
This mother placed her usual order at a McDonald’s restaurant in Maine, USA—a couple of menus and a Happy meal for her 11-year-old son. When she opened up the box for her child, she was astonished to find drugs included in the meal. The drug was Suboxone, a medication used to treat narcotic addiction.
As soon as she discovered the illegal substance, she reported it to the police who then started their investigation. After checking the CCTV footage, the authorities found that the prescription drugs actually belonged to one of the employees of the branch. The medicine had accidentally slipped out of his shirt pocket and landed into the menu while he was preparing the order.
The aftermath
The whole incident may have been an accident but the employee in question did not escape the consequences. Furthermore, the officers in-charge had discovered that he had obtained the drugs illegally through another employee from the same branch.
The first employee, a 43-year-old man, was charged with illegal possession of drugs. While the second, a 29-year-old woman, was also arrested for illegal drug trafficking.
The manager of the chain was beyond shocked when he realised what was going on in his branch, and he said that the two employees would not be working in the restaurant any longer. He told People magazine.
In our restaurants, nothing is more important than the safety and well-being of our employees and customers. I was shocked and disappointed by the behavior of these crew members, which goes against the values we have as an organization and will not be tolerated.
We are taking this matter seriously so that we can continue to maintain our high standards.
