Don't trust the kindness of hardened criminals -- especially if you are a prison guard. Four sentries in Denmark learned their lesson the hard way
Mom always said not to take candy from strangers. Apparently this tried-and-true advice didn't really sink in for four Danish prison guards who ate some inmate-baked cake Wednesday that landed them in the hospital.And these weren't just your run-of-the-mill prisoners turned bakers, but members of some of Denmark's meanest criminal motorcycle gangs.The guards -- two men and two women -- were being treated for stomach pains after eating what officials have described as a cake laced with an unidentified narcotic, according to the AFP.
The suspected poisoning victims work at the Nyborg State Prison, on Fyn Island in central Denmark. Una Jensen, a deputy prison warden, told the AFP that the bakers included members of the Black Cobra and Den Internationale Klub gangs.
Bo Soerensen, head of the Danish prison guards' union told Denmark's Ekstra Bladet tabloid that the alleged poisoning was "an attack on the entire Danish penitentiary model and the good tradition of where guards and prisoners interact in an informal manner."Guards are now banned from accepting cakes, sweets or other prisoner-made treats. Blood test results could take two weeks, according to the Copenhagen Post.
The top-security prison was the site of riots in 2004 following a decision by prison authorities to remove larger dumbbells and weights. At the time, Carsten Pedersen, chairman of the Union of Danish Prison Officers told the New York Times: "Some inmates have grown to abnormal size. They have become monster men."Apparently the kitchen isn't any safer than the weight room.