FAST food giant McDonald's has withdrawn plastic spoons after fears that drug dealers have been using them to measure out heroin fixes.
Detectives found the old-style spoons in the homes of suspected drug dealers during a series of raids last week.
McDonald's replaced spoons with flat stirrers a few months ago after police advised that spoons could be used for mixing drugs.
The spoons hold 100 milligrams of powder, so can be used instead of scales to mix heroin with substances such as glucose or milk powder.
Drug dealers are said to favour the spoons because they do not have to carry around sets of scales, which can be incriminating evidence.
A spokeswoman for Lothian and Borders Police, which made the discovery, said yesterday: ''I can confirm that some of the old-style spoons were found in the homes of suspected drug dealers. Some of the spoons were obtained by police as evidence.''
A McDonald's spokeswoman said: ''There was a design change a few months ago and use by drug dealers was one of the issues we were looking at after consultation with the police. The new stirrers are being phased in over a period of time.''
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