CASE STUDY WEEK 5
METH LAB WITH CI
Facts: On February 1, 2013 law enforcement officers met with a confidential informant (CI) to discuss drug related crimes such as trafficking in drugs within the City of Circleville, Pickaway County, Ohio. The decision was made to attempt a reverse buy for methamphetamine. In this situation the law enforcement officers purchased two boxes of Sudafed cold tablets and provided them to the CI. The CI under audio and video surveillance by officers delivered the Sudafed to the suspect identified by the CI as being an individual who would manufacture methamphetamine. They also purchased four lithium batteries that the CI provided to the suspect. The CI kept in constant contact with the officers and the suspect over the next few hours until the suspect notified the CI that the methamphetamine had been manufactured from the Sudafed.
At this time a search warrant based upon this information was obtained from the Judge. Using the search warrant SWAT officers entered the residence of the suspect and found four individuals. Two individuals including the main suspect were found in the back bedroom and two other individuals were found in the bathroom of the two-bedroom trailer right outside the bedroom door.
The following items were found at the scene:
Cold packs
Drain opener
Coleman lighter fluid
Salt containers
Hair dryer
Box fan
Mt Dew Bottles with caps cut off the top
Black scales
Mason jar with clear liquid and crystals
Paint thinner cans
Lithium batteries
Baggie with unknown white powdery substance
Pill crusher
Lab carburetor
Bags with cut lithium batteries
Propane tank
Pop bottles
Rubber tubing
Empty Sudafed boxes
SOME QUESTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION
What happened in this case?Who are the parties?What facts are important? Unimportant?Is any significant information missing?Why did the people involved act the way they did? How and why is the CI used versus the officers? Are there safety considerations here?What types of surveillance is used?
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