Sheriff: Stanislaus Meth Lab Detector Doesn't Work
MODESTO, Calif. (AP) -- After six years and zero results, Stanislaus County is getting ready to give up on its state-of-the-art meth lab detector.
The equipment was hailed as a technological marvel when the sheriff's department paid $615,000 for it in 2005. It was the first civilian application of military technology that used infrared sensors to detect chemical vapors 1,000 feet away.
But Sheriff Adam Christianson told the Modesto Bee that the equipment doesn't work and hasn't been used since 2006. He says it never produced any meth arrests.
Christianson says it would cost another $100,000 to update the equipment, so his staff recommends selling it back to the manufacturer for $25,000 instead. The sheriff plans to submit the recommendation to the county supervisors.
Stanislaus County was a hotbed of methamphetamine production in the 1990s, but the drug activity has since drastically reduced.
