Current status: True
From Snopes.com, the page that debunks urban legends... or suppoorts them when it can:
Claim: The FBI investigated the purchases of large amounts of candy from Costco stores in New Jersey but found nothing to be concerned about.
Status: True.
Examples: [Collected on the Internet, 2001]
I spoke with another parent last night whose cousin works in the Wayne Costco. I am not sure of the validity of this story, however I thought it important and scary enough to pass it along to all. I did check SNOPES.com, but there is nothing on that site about this case, probably because it is something so local.
Last week a gentleman of middle eastern descent opened up an account at the Hackensack Costco and purchased close to $7,000 worth of candy. I guess this was not particularly alarming because many small business purchase large amounts of items at Costco. What became alarming this same person (or someone using this person's card) purchased close to $15,000 worth of addition CANDY 2 days ago at the Wayne Costco. The cashier became alarmed at this large purchase of candy and more so when the person paid cash. I'm told she was fearful and did not alert anyone in the store until after the person left and then it was reported to authorities.
I pass this along in case your children or grandchildren go trick or treating. I do not know the intentions of the person who purchased all this candy, but in today's time I do not think it is crazy to be overly cautious. The possibility of this candy being tainted and resold to unknowing discount distributors and then passed on to unknowing consumers is too great.
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I called the Hackensack location (because I grew sick of the false alarms and rumors) and this information is true.
Guys be careful a notice just came to me from someone that works in Costco. 2 Arabic guys bought more than $35,000.00 dollars worth of candy, in Wayne $15,000.00 & in Hackensack $20,0000.00. After they left they found out their Costco i.d was fake, & they paid the whole thing cash. The F.B.I. was notified just be careful with your kids for trick o' treating on Halloween! I just thought u wanted to know that.
DON"T LET THOSE KIDS GO OUT FOR HALLOWEEN!
Origins: If Halloween hadn't already been ruined this year by rumors of terrorist attacks at shopping malls, this incident will certainly kill it.
Even in calmer times, Halloween is subject to perennial tales of evildoers who put razor blades and poison in candy distributed to innocent trick-or-treaters, and with the current heightened fears of terrorist attacks, these types of rumors are bound to flourish. So, if an "Arab" is spotted purchasing large amounts of candy before Halloween, he's going to be tagged as a potential "terrorist" out to poison our children.
It is true that the FBI is investigating the cash purchase of "large quantities" of candy from Costco stores in Hackensack and Wayne, New Jersey, on Wednesday, October 18, and that the purchaser is in federal custody for immigration law reasons, but that's all we know so far. As FBI spokesperson Sandra Carroll explained:
t would be premature to draw conclusions about the purchaser's intent for the candy, which agents had not found by Friday night. She declined to describe the candy.
"We have no evidence or information for us to suspect there is any reason to cancel scheduled events," Carroll said when asked if the FBI had concerns about the safety of Halloween. "However, the public is encouraged to remain alert but calm."
However, customers' purchasing large amounts of candy this time of year is not necessarily so unusual by itself as to be cause for alarm:
[A] Costco official, who declined to be identified, said such large purchases from the chain of wholesale grocery and household goods stores are not uncommon.
Of course, the legendary form of this incident (i.e,. the assumption that the purchaser was an "Arab" out to poison thousands of children with tainted Halloween candy) posits that terrorists who were sufficiently careful and well-organized to successfully hijack four airplanes after spending years planning, training, and living here without drawing attention to themselves would then turn around and not only clumsily purchase a huge amount of candy in open fashion, but would bring even more suspicion down upon themselves by using phony Costco cards instead of spending a few dollars for the real thing.
Sure enough, the FBI reported a few days later that:
A man who used cash to buy large amounts of candy from Costco stores in Hackensack and Wayne last week is not suspected of any terrorist activity, the FBI said.
"We do not have any evidence that suggests that the purchases of these items was not for legitimate purposes," said Sandra Carroll, an FBI spokesperson in Newark.
The candy, meanwhile, has been found, Carroll said.
We may never hear a complete resolution of this matter due to INS confidentiality rules, but most likely this was simply a case of someone with marginal immigration status operating a business which involved buying candy in large quantities at low prices and re-selling it to distributors or through retail outlets.
