When you buy a laptop for a couple bucks at a salvage and recovery store, you take a chance it might not be good as new. But if you’re buying a box of tampons from the same outlet, you might ask “what could possibly be wrong?” Well… lots.

A woman in Salt Lake City says she purchased a box of tampons at one such store over the weekend, she found a powdery substance packed inside some of the applicators.

“It was real powdery and it was in the thicker cellophane,” she tells KSL-TV. “They had taped it really good in the middle and I spent about 5 minutes trying to open it and never did get it open.”

She called the police, who called the HazMat folks to determine if this was talcum powder, narcotics, or something worse. In the end it was plain old cocaine.

“It appears to be a highly sophisticated way of attempting to smuggle or get drugs though to some place or another,” a police detective tells KSL.

The store has since stopped selling that particular brand of tampons while police investigate.

Meanwhile, we imagine some people around the Salt Lake City area are cracking open boxes at their local drug stores hoping to luck into some free fun.

Woman buys tampons stuffed with cocaine at local store [KSL.com]

Thanks to Anthony for the tip!

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.