There’s certain things you just don’t even consider finding when you buy a second-hand computer game – and Class A substances has surely got to be one of them.
I remember the good old days accompanying my brother to flick through old, pre-owned games. At worst the booklet might contain some dubious looking stains – food or beer hopefully – and maybe a few strands of a previous owner’s hair.
None of these things are a patch on the discovery this 11-year-old boy made when he tore open the case ready to enjoy his game though.
While going through the booklet for the pre-owned version of Grand Theft Auto V – he’d just bought from GameStop, Tallahassee, Florida – he got the shock of his life when a bag of meth dropped out.
The boy’s mum, Kayla McAllister was horrified her 11-year-old son had just come into contact with a baggie from someone’s dodgy old game and took to Facebook to share her outrage.
She posted:
PARENTS BE AWARE:
Today I took my son to GameStop in Tallahassee to trade in games and get some new ones.
When he opened the booklet inside one of the pre-owned games he ( MY ELEVEN YEAR OLD SON!!!!!!!) found this. A baggie of fucking meth!
Clearly the game was not properly checked when it was traded in and because of the carelessness, I could have lost a child.
Thankfully he brought it right to us and said what is this? My fucking 3-year-old daughter could have gotten a hold of this!
I’ve filed a police report and contacted corporate and waiting to hear back. PLEASE CHECK ALL THE PRE OWNED GAMES YOU BUY!!!
Just the thought of something happening to any of my kids because of something as crazy as this kills me.
SO PLEASE PLEASE CHECK EVERYTHING! I never in a million years thought my 11-year-old son would encounter meth. This is crazy.
Understandably, she was deeply concerned one of her children could have mistaken the drugs for sweets which could have been incredibly dangerous and potentially fatal.
Thankfully her son brought the packet to her. In a state of panic, Kayla called the police and a report from the Gadsden County Sheriff’s Department – obtained by Kotaku – revealed they were sent round to her home.
Kayla’s instincts were right though and after police tests, they confirmed the substance hiding among the pages of the GTA booklet, were indeed methamphetamine.
She wrote on Facebook:
My nerves are so bad right now. Thank god [my son] was smart enough to bring it to us. I cant fucking imagine what could have happened if he didn’t.
The mum, who also has a three-year-old girl, explained on her social media profile how she had contacted customer services for GameStop, who got back to her the following day.
She added:
So they called and offered me a replacement video game.
I was like really?
Ignoring the other issue that this was an 11-year-old being given an 18-rated game, it was a good job the little guy trusted his instincts and showed his mum the baggie or else it could have been a very different story.
