The Houston City government in Texas, USA, has reported that evidence including marijuana stored in police lockers has been destroyed by “drug-addicted rats.” Despite efforts by the police to hire personnel for rodent control, the effectiveness has been limited.
According to reports from the Associated Press, Houston Mayor John Whitmire recently stated in a press conference that drugs stored as evidence in lockers attract rodents. These rodents consume the drugs as food, causing damage to the evidence in the process.
Whitmire revealed that the police had stored 400,000 pounds (181,437 kilograms) of marijuana in the lockers, with the rodents being the sole consumers.
He announced a collaboration with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office to organize the 1.2 million pieces of evidence stored in the city and to dispose of all drugs stored since 2015.
Whitmire mentioned that they had held onto and stored too much evidence that is no longer needed, which does not affect the determination of charges, convictions, or acquittals.
Peter Stout, the director of the Houston Forensic Science Center, mentioned during the same press conference that the large amount of drug evidence stored in the city was putting other unrelated evidence at risk.
Stout noted that these drugs are edible and quite tasty. Storing a large quantity of drugs without anticipating such incidents is implausible.
He stated that while rodent control personnel had been hired by the police, the rodent issue still persisted.
He said, “They are drug-addicted rats, difficult to deal with.”
Houston officials mentioned that only one ongoing case has been affected by the rodent issue. These rodents managed to infiltrate a bag containing hallucinogenic mushrooms.
Incidents of rodents consuming police drug evidence have also occurred last year in New Orleans, Louisiana.
As reported by WWL TV, New Orleans Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick informed the City Council in March 2024 that the police headquarters had issues with cockroaches and rodents, particularly the latter which seemed eager to destroy evidence by consuming drugs.
She said, “They ate our marijuana, very excited about it.”
She also mentioned that at times, police department staff would find rodent feces on their desks when they came to work, which significantly impacted morale.
She added, “When we say we value our employees, you can’t say that and then have people working in unacceptable conditions.”
In response, the New Orleans City government is seeking to lease another building for the police department’s use.