Missouri sheriff pulls plug on online meth-testing offer

OZARK, Mo. — A southwestern Missouri sheriff’s department is halting its online request for people to bring in their methamphetamine for possible contamination testing, saying the joke sting operation didn’t yield any arrests.

The Kansas City Star reported the Christian County Sheriff’s Department’s Facebook solicitation that the department would test people’s meth for staph and hepatitis drew 1.7 million views and was shared more than 17,000 times.

Sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Lofton said two people did call to inquiry about the alert, telling dispatchers they wanted more details about screening their meth. The department’s efforts to contact them failed because the callers’ numbers couldn’t be tracked.

Police agencies in various states spread a similar tongue-in-cheek word about methamphetamine, saying the drug was tainted with everything from hepatitis to staph and Ebola.