The best course of action now is for these players to open a ticket and resolve the situation through that process. If it turns out the items were legitimately dropped from the fortune cookie from the mission, and not from the football balls (which can also drop the fortune cookie), the bans will be lifted 100%, and a small bonus will be given.
I believe the current situation has made us all a bit dizzy, leading to a few mistakes, but everything should return to normal now. I am sure that from now on, the staff will move faster, as they were overwhelmed by the situation 'till now.