The mother of an 11-year-old boy found Suboxone in her son’s Happy Meal box after picking it up from the drive-through at McDonald’s on Center Street in Auburn, Maine, on Wednesday, June 30, according to police.
While investigating the unexpected package, police said that the “incident was an accident on the part of an employee.”
According to investigators, an employee preparing meals for the drive-through had Suboxone in a shirt pocket with a Bic pen.
When he bent over to get something from behind the counter, the drugs and pen fell from the pocket into the Happy Meal box he was preparing.
It is alleged that the employee was unaware that the drugs had fallen out of his pocket, and didn’t discover the mistake until the incident was brought to the attention of the fast-food restaurant.
“My blood was boiling," area resident Shirlee Marchesseault said to CBS13. "I didn’t even know what to do at that point, so I called the police."
The investigation led to the arrest of 43-year-old Michael Sevey, who was charged with unlawful possession of schedule W drugs, and 29-year-old Mariah Grant, both of Auburn, Maine, with unlawful trafficking of schedule W drugs.
It is alleged that Grant, also an employee at McDonald’s illegally sold the prescription drugs to Sevey, before they fell into the Happy Meal box.
“The employee had no knowledge that the prescription was missing from the shirt until later in the shift, when the incident was brought to the store’s attention,” police said. “The employee responsible for dropping the prescription into the ‘Happy Meal’ had obtained the items illegally from another employee earlier in the shift.”
Police noted that McDonald’s management has cooperated with the police investigation.
Both Grant and Sevey are scheduled to make court appearances in November.
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