A mum has told of the time she accidentally bought her daughter a cocaine-filled ‘merbaby’ and exposed an ‘international drug-smuggling ring’.
Elizabeth Faidley had bought the unusual toy from craft-site Etsy, after her daughter Ellie specifically requested ‘a real merbaby’ for Christmas.
But when Ellie received the doll, named Pearl, she was horrified by her ‘hideous’ scaled skin, green hair and ‘creepy eyes’ – to the point that she even questioned whether Santa was real.
In a bid to rectify the present, her mum then tried to dye the toy’s hair blonde, before discovering a ‘doll and teddy bear hospital’ in Secaucus, New Jersey. Recounting the saga on Facebook, Elizabeth described how she then decided to pack Pearl off to the doll hospital for alterations.
She said: ‘I tell Ellie that Pearl is going off to the hospital to have her face and hair “adjusted.” Ellie wisely informs me that “Pearl has even greater problems than those”.’
‘Then, she proceeds write on the box, “Please, please, help this doll. She has so many problems”.’ Elizabeth, who teaches at Manhattan School of Music, was then waiting for the new Pearl to be returned when she received a phone call from Secaucus Police Department.
A detective told her that 56 grams of cocaine had been found by workers ‘stuffed’ inside the doll’s head.
Elizabeth wrote online: ‘The detective first suggests that the drugs are mine. I adamantly argue, and insist that I have never seen cocaine in my life.
‘He relents, agreeing that it would be strange for me to stuff cocaine in a doll’s head and then ship it off to an expensive doll hospital.
‘Then, in what is probably the strangest conversation of my life, the detective asked me what was “up” with Pearl. Did a weird uncle put drugs in Pearl’s head 30 years ago and then I inherited Pearl?’
After hearing she had bought the doll, the detective asked why Elizabeth hadn’t just buy her daughter Ariel from The Little Mermaid.
Elizabeth wrote that she replied: ‘Detective, Ariel is a grown up mermaid. Ellie wanted a baby mermaid. She will not be fooled by a fake baby mermaid!’ Officers finally believed the cocaine was not Elizabeth’s after performing background checks on her ‘entire’ family.
They then carried out a ‘sting’ on the doll maker in Alabama, before telling Elizabeth that Pearl would have to be ‘locked away in evidence awaiting an international drug trial.’
She recalled: ‘I hung up the phone and told Ellie: “Honey, Pearl is going to stay at the doll hospital for longer than we had anticipated. It turns out that she has …. many problems.” ‘Ellie nodded and said, “I told you, Mum. The doll is messed up”.’
Elizabeth’s Facebook story has since been shared 29,000 times, with hundreds of people sharing their comments.
She ended the post by wishing her friends a ‘mermaid-and-drug-free’ Christmas, adding that if ‘cocaine accidentally shows up under your tree, know that I understand and that you tried your best’.
