Preliminary lab reports revealed a synthetic drug in the holiday bread that made more than 40 people sick this week, the Orange County Health Care Agency said Friday night.

The finding prompted the Santa Ana Police Department to launch a criminal investigation. The specific drug has not yet been confirmed, authorities said. More lab results are expected in two weeks.

“Synthetic drugs, there are a lot of them and we don’t know yet,” said Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna. “But we felt it was important to inform the public and the community of what we found.

“We weren’t involved in the beginning of the investigation, but now we are.”

Synthetic drugs have properties and effects similar to hallucinogens or narcotics but have a slightly altered chemical structure. The effects can be similar to those of cocaine, LSD or methamphetamine, according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

The health agency launched a foodborne illness investigation after people who ate rosca de reyes holiday bread produced at Cholula’s Bakery in Santa Ana became ill with symptoms that included heart palpitations, dizziness, numbness and hallucinatory thoughts.

The bread had been distributed to nine stores in Orange County and one in Long Beach. Some people sought treatment at hospitals after they consumed the bread Tuesday for the Three Kings Day celebration.

The bakery will remain closed as part of the investigation. The store will not reopen until the property is professionally cleaned, all ingredients used to make the tainted bread are thrown away and staff members are trained in food safety, said Nicole Stanfield, spokeswoman for the health agency.

The bread used in the lab testing came from a customer who had eaten it and become ill, Stanfield said.

Ireri Hinojosa, a Santa Ana woman who felt “strange” after eating the bread and was hospitalized, said Friday she was angry to hear about the drug discovery. “This bread is shared for celebrations,” she said. “I’m lucky my children didn’t get ahold of it.”

The health care agency ordered the bakery closed Wednesday and later suspended the shop’s permit when inspectors found traces of a cockroach infestation.

The bakery’s owners could not be reached for comment by telephone but apologized on the store’s Facebook page in English and Spanish on Thursday.

“First off and foremost we would like to apologize to all of our customers who experienced strange symptoms after eating our rosca de reyes cake … There are steps we need to take and at this moment our small business is collaborating with the health department to solve this problem.

“Again, we are apologetic and in a way ashamed this happened to our customers.”

Bertagna said the owners were very cooperative when the first reports of illnesses surfaced. Now that the Police Department is part of the investigation, detectives will re-interview the 40 people who fell ill.

“It’s a priority case for them,” he said.

Anyone who may have consumed the tainted bread is asked to contact the Santa Ana Police Crimes Against Persons Unit at 714-245-8390.

Staff writer Scott Schwebke contributed to this report.