Rum bottle leaking ‘suspicious fluid’ found in Ontario girl’s trick-or-treat bag: police

Halton police are calling an incident on Halloween “morally reprehensible” after a small rum bottle leaking a clear “suspicious fluid” was found in a 12-year-old Milton, Ont., girl’s trick-or-treat bag.

Police said the girl’s mother found the bottle, which police said was a “potentially dangerous substance,” while inspecting her daughter’s bag of candy Monday evening.

“The top of the bottle was compromised and it was leaking slightly,” Staff Sgt. Paul Davies told Global News Tuesday.

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“The preliminary investigation from the officers at the front desk determined it wasn’t quite the odour of alcohol you would expect from a small bottle like that, so we’re unsure what this clear liquid is.”

Police sealed the bottle and sent the liquid away for analysis for testing to determine if the fluid was rum or another substance.

Davies said although the girl didn’t ingest the liquid, police advised the mother to throw out the candy and officers wanted to ensure the public was aware.

“It’s still alarming,” he said. “If somebody’s put alcohol or something in a child’s trick-or-treat bag, we regard that as quite serious – it’s morally reprehensible.”

The bottle was handed out by a resident in the Childs and Ledwith drives area in Milton. Police are urging parents to thoroughly inspect candy collected during Halloween.

Mark Carcasole contributed to this report