Noodles laced with opium 'to encourage return visits'

The owner of a noodle shop in the northern Shaanxi province of China has been arrested after he was caught adding crushed poppy shells to his dishes.

Zhange confessed to buying 2kg of poppy shells – used to make opium – for £60 and putting them in the food in order to boost sales, the South China Morning Post reports.

The scandal came to light after customer Liu Juyou was pulled over by police and tested positive for opium.

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Liu told police he had never used the drug and that he suspected the restaurant was involved, but officers were unconvinced. However, after the rest of Liu's family tested positive for the drug, police opened an investigation into the restaurant.

The chemicals present in poppy seed pods can accumulate in the body, causing a person to test positive for opiates, according to a Chinese anti-narcotics officer. If the food is ingested over a long period of time and in large enough amount, a person will become addicted.

Zhang was detained for ten days but later released.