I’m saddened to report that yet another popular culture icon of our youth has lost his way.

Mr. Potato Head, master of disguise, has been arrested for smuggling the party drug ecstasy.

As reported by The Smoking Gun, Head was caught earlier this month with a belly full of pills by Australian customs officials.

Authorities were credited with efficient police work in pursuing the elusive suspect. A few quick snaps, and Mr. Potato Head can transmogrify into Mr. FootFace, Mr. EarOverHere!, Mr. Lipeyes, and Mr. President.

No doubt it took the latest in police sketch artistry tools and electronic surveillance to bring him down.

Head ran into the law once before, in Beverly Hills, after he falsified university credentials and practiced as a gynecologist for two years before a patient noticed that his wall diploma was issued by Tuber State University.

It is believed that Head gained a rudimentary knowledge of anatomy by practicing with an early Colorforms manual.

After he made a penitential plea before a California judge, a decision was reached. Head was given a light sentence and ordered to keep his snake in its can.

Regrettably, this was followed by a rapid descent into alcoholism.

As for the current charge, Head faces penalties under Australia’s especially onerous drug laws, including the possibility of death by Easy Bake.

As part of his defense, Head’s attorney plans to advise the court that, if nothing else, at no time has Mr. Potato Head ever worn lead paint.

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In an unrelated story sent to SawyerSpeaks by a reader in Littleton, Massachusetts, the Thai Cottage restaurant in London, cooking up a batch of Nam Prik Pao — a Thai dip with fiercely hot chillies that are burned in the cooking — emitted such a stench that firefighters arrived wearing protective breathing apparatus. A Turkish journalist in the restaurant’s building said, “I was sitting in the office when me and my chief start coughing and I said this was something really dodgy.” You’ll find the full story by the BBC News here.