Harib…oh!: Gendarmes in France seize cannabis in branded sweet packets
The cannabis had been packed in little plastic bags designed to look like sweets from the well-known brand. Haribo France has condemned the design
The packs were designed to look like Haribo sweets and even had a version of the brand’s famous slogan on the side
Markus Mainka / Annsilla Snaps / Shutterstock
Packets of cannabis designed to look like Haribo sweets have been seized by gendarmes in southeast France, along with packs of cocaine and several hundred euros in cash.
The cache was discovered during an anti-drug operation in Sorgues (Vaucluse).
The packs were labelled “Haribeuh” and designed to look like the mini sweet packets sold by the famous confectionery brand, with bright red text, striped green and yellow colours, and a transparent plastic window to show the contents.
The packs even contained a take on Haribo’s famous slogan, which in French is “Haribo c'est beau la vie, pour les grands et les petits (Haribo, life is beautiful, for adults and kids)” and which in English is “Kids and grownups love it so, the happy world of Haribo”.
The cannabis packs read: “Haribeuh c’est beau la vie, y’a de la weed et du teuchi” (Haribeuh, life is beautiful, there is weed and hash).
When posting about the find on their Facebook page, the gendarmerie also wrote their own rhyming slogan: “Haribeuh ce n'est pas bon à notre avis, ni pour les grands ni pour les petits (Haribeuh is not good in our opinion, for adults or kids)”.
Director of marketing at Haribo France, Jean-Noël Michel, told France Bleu Gard Lozère that the packs were proof of the brand’s fame and its attractiveness but that the company “strongly condemns…the use of our reputation for this kind of banned and harmful product.”
He said that the use of the Haribo-style brand suggested that the creators were targeting younger people with cannabis, which he also condemned.
He added that Haribo France would take legal action if they can identify the authors.
It's not the first time that gendarmes have found drugs in packs designed to look like sweets, and is the latest in a series of creative finds.
In Nantes, last February, police found drugs in “Kinder Surprise” packages. In December 2020, police in Morbihan discovered sachets of drugs branded with the anime giant brand “Dragon Ball Z”, while in October, packs designed to look like Justice Minister Éric Dupond-Moretti were seized in Isère.
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