The noodles were not just tasty. They were addictive. A Chinese noodle vendor in northern
Shaanxi province has been detained for 10 days after admitting he added powdered poppy
plant from which opium is made to his dishes to keep customers coming back, Chinese media
has reported.The owner said that he bought 4 catty (2kg) of the substance for 600 yuan ($98)
in August. He said he added it to his food to make it taste better and to improve his business,
the Huashangbao paper reported. The opium-laced noodles came to light after police stopped
a vehicle driven by a 26-year-old man and tested him for drugs not long after he had consumed
a bowl of the noodles.
The man was detained for 15 days on charges of drug abuse and was not released until family
members told police how they had also eaten at the same restaurant and tested positive for the
drug. The paper said the risk of becoming a drug addict from the laced noodles, even if eaten
continuously for a long period of time, was unlikely. It added that lacing food with opium poppy
was not uncommon in China, with similar cases in 2010 and 2012.
Source: CNN