Popular cartoon characters in the form of brightly colored candy are actually hidden receptacles for drugs, says the Hapeville Police Department in Georgia.

The cartoon-shaped pills were molded in the likeness of iconic cartoon characters like Homer Simpson, Hello Kitty, and the Minions.

The Hapeville Police Department Cpl. Jason Dyer wrote a Facebook post updating the community on the “major bust,” as reported by The State.

The bust—conducted by the Hapeville Criminal Investigation Division—included cash, firearms (including a stolen gun), suspected marijuana, pills, cannabis lollipops, and suspected powder cocaine.

Both the cartoon-shaped, unspecified "pills" and the lollipops were designed to look like children’s candy, prompting the Hapeville police to ask community leaders such as teachers and parents to be on the lookout for suspicious goodies.

The Facebook post by the Hapeville Police Department prompted a few commenters who felt the police department was wasting its time on what one called, “stripper money,” apparently referring to the piles of dollar bills in the photo. Other citizens were grateful to the police department for its hard work.

This bust comes a month before Halloween, a time when parents might feel a little paranoid about the candy kids are getting a hold of. Old stories of tampering with Halloween candy might come to mind, but in general, candy tampering has not been a real danger for American children.

In 2017, a major drug bust in Atlanta included meth lollipops shaped like flowers. While concerns were that drug dealers were targeting children, drug policy expert Bill Piper of the Drug Policy Alliance disagreed.

“It’s easy for people to fall for this marketing to children because there’s this misconception that drug dealers are standing on the street corner handing out free drugs,” Piper told The Washington Post. “Adults don’t want nasty-tasting stuff either. We especially find in the flavored meth, a lot of that turned out to be flavoring for adults.”

In addition, drugs that look like candy are easier to move throughout communities.

That being said, the Channel Islands has a Halloween candy safety tip page on its website that is worth a visit for parents. One tip states that parents should tell their children not to open or consume any non-commercially packaged candies or foods on Halloween night.

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