Drug-addicted rats torment Texas police, destroy evidence
Drug-addicted rats are destroying evidence in warehouses, posing a serious problem for the Texas police. Even exterminators are struggling to deal with the rodent infestation.
"We got 400,000 pounds of marijuana in storage. The rats are the only ones enjoying it," reported the American press agency UPI (United Press International), citing Mayor John Whitmire. He announced a plan to address the situation, including disposing of drugs stored for more than a decade in Texas police warehouses.
"We are still holding unnecessary evidence that will no longer impact any verdicts," Whitmire stated at a press conference.
Drug-addicted rats eat police evidence
- They're drug-addicted rats. They're tough to deal with - said Peter Stout, head of the city's Forensic Center. He emphasized that rats are also destroying other physical evidence, not just marijuana. The police called in extermination specialists, but they were unable to eradicate the rodents.
The situation escalated to the point where hungry and drug-addicted rats disrupted at least one ongoing case. The rodents got into a bag of hallucinogenic mushrooms and ate them all.
It's not just Houston facing this issue. In the spring of last year, New Orleans police also complained about evidence destruction by rats.
- The rats are eating our marijuana. They're all high - explained Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick during a city justice committee meeting.
