A homeless charity in New Zealand has unwittingly given out sweets containing a potentially lethal dose of methamphetamine after they were donated by a member of the public.

The amount of the drug in each wrapper is up to 300 times the level someone would normally take and could be lethal, the New Zealand Drug Foundation said.

The charity, Auckland City Mission, said it was contacting 400 people to track down parcels that could contain methamphetamine – a highly addictive stimulant that affects the central nervous system.

Three people were taken to hospital after consuming solid blocks of the drug wrapped in sweet wrappers, authorities said. They were later discharged.

Auckland City Missioner Helen Robinson said eight families – including at least one child – had reported consuming the contaminated sweets, but the “revolting” taste meant most spat them out.

The charity was alerted by a food bank client who reported a “funny-tasting” sweet.

The wrappers had the label of Malaysian brand Rinda, while the sweets were said to be pineapple flavour.

Staff tested them and called the authorities. One staffer was taken to hospital.

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Ben Birks Ang, a spokesperson with the New Zealand Drug Foundation, said disguising drugs as regular products was a common cross-border smuggling tactic.

Each sweet has a street value of £473, he added, suggesting the donation to the charity was accidental rather than anything more sinister.

Detective Inspector Glenn Baldwin said “initial perceptions” were that it was an importation scheme gone wrong.

Sixteen sweets have been recovered, while it is unclear how many remain at large, he added.

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