Oklahoma fast-food restaurant worker arrested after meth found in order, police say

A fast-food restaurant employee in Oklahoma was arrested after a customer found a small baggy of drugs in their order, the Skiatook Police Department said. A crystalline substance inside the bag field-tested positive for methamphetamine, according to a police Facebook post.

The officers went to the restaurant to speak with employees and ultimately arrested Bryce Francis for allegedly distributing controlled substance within 2,000 feet of a school and for possession of a controlled substance. They noted that Francis has been arrested but not convicted of these charges. 

The department urged people to be diligent when they order food. "When you go out to eat, please check the food, especially before consuming it or handing it to a child. If you encounter anything like described in this incident, please contact us immediately," they said on Facebook. 

And they added a note for whoever was supposed to receive the order: "it is waiting for you at the Skiatook Police Department. Just swing on by!"

Methamphetamine, or meth, is a "powerful, highly addictive stimulant that affects the central nervous system," according to to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). "Crystal methamphetamine is a form of the drug that looks like glass fragments or shiny, bluish-white rocks." It can be smoked, snorted, swallowed in pill form or injected.

Since 2014, the number of deaths in the U.S. involving psychostimulants — primarily methamphetamine — have significantly increased each year, with 23,837 deaths in 2020, according to NIDA.

Under Oklahoma law, methamphetamine is a Schedule 2 drug and possessing even trace or residue amounts can lead to arrest. Possession is a misdemeanor offense in the state and may be punished by a maximum fine of $1,000 and no more than one year in jail. Distributing or possessing with the intent to distribute can bring a steeper penalty, two years to life in prison and a maximum fine of up to $20,000.