Photos: Top Twelve Craziest Meth Busts In Missouri, The Meth Capital Of The U.S.

By Sam Levin Wed., Feb. 20 2013 at 7:00 AM

In case you missed it, Missouri is, yet again, number one in the nation for meth lab busts, new data shows. This is not much of a surprise to law enforcement officials in the state who deal with this every day -- especially those in Jefferson County, which has the second highest concentration of meth labs in the country.

In honor of Missouri's prestigious title, we thought we'd take a look back at some of the top craziest meth-related crimes in the state in recent memory.

And with methamphetamine, there's a lot of competition -- and very few happy endings. Check out our list below.

12. Mobile Meth Lab, Uncovered By Eight-Year-Old

via

When your guests are making "loud boom" noises in the woods -- it might be time to get suspicious.

And an observant eight-your-old child in East Carondelet became especially suspicious when he discovered a duffle bag in the treeline -- which turned out to be home to a mobile meth lab.

The discovery prompted several arrests of folks staying with the eight-year-old's family.

11. Shake-and-Bake Run-and-Gun

via

Investigators in Steele, Missouri last year were watching a house suspected of being a covert drug operation -- when a car pulled away, prompting a pursuit.

A short while later, the car stopped in the middle of the road and the driver, logically, decided to run on foot. Officers, however, tackled him and uncovered a plastic one-liter bottle from his jacket.

What was the device exactly?

A "fully active, boiling shake-and-bake methamphetamine lab." Obviously.

Continue for more Missouri meth busts.

We Recommend

buddecj

Yikes, they all look like extras for Crypt Keeper.

jbradhicks topcommenter

I'm going to say something mild in defense of #s 2 and 7.

#7: By home meth-lab standards, setting up your lab in a cemetary that you have a legal right to be at almost qualifies as polite behavior. No property values to ruin, no neighbors to endanger. He could have done a lot worse.

#2: Obviously brewing your own Benzedrine (which is what meth is) to medicate your ADHD kid is bad. You're supposed to use much-more-expensive Ritalin (which is also speed) instead. Look, snark aside, given that we do treat at least some childhood behaviors with speed, why is what she was doing completely incomprehensible? She wasn't qualified to diagnose, sure, and I don't know that Benzedrine has been clinically tested as a substitute for Ritalin ... but if it's what you've got, if it's what you can afford, and you have some reason to think it might work, wouldn't you at least consider trying it if your kid needed medication badly?

cmdresch

Please tell me you are kidding - because no one in their right mind can believe that a meth user (obvious by the fact that the meth was available for the child to "demand" it) letting a child smoke meth from a pipe is in any way comparable with a doctor prescribing Ritalin. If you do truly believe this is acceptable because it's "what you've got", "what you can afford" then I sure hope you are not responsible for any children. This woman's actions - and your justifacation of it - are beyond the pale..

bikbobb

@cmdresch open your eyes

craftycutie78

1 Like

@cmdresch I am a pharmacy technician here in St. Louis, and guess what "Ritalin" is brand name for? Yes, Methamphetamine! If you give kids Ritalin you are almost giving them the same thing. The difference? One is made in a pharmaceutical lab and one is made in a trailer. If you watch Breaking Bad it is interesting because since the main character is a chemist he makes pharmaceutical grade meth, ie, the same as your doctor would prescribe. Another main difference is that what your doctor gives you is in pill form, and the illegal kind in usually smoked. So don't be so quick to judge jbradhicks, he is theoretically correct.

carbomba

@gonzomurphy @craftycutie78 percocets have prescribed dosage too.. it also says dont use with alcohol.. everyone listens to that right??

gonzomurphy

@craftycutie78

You are incorrect and saying meth is the same as Ritalin is the same as saying Meth is the same as Red Bull. Both contain compounds that stimulate the nervous system, but the chemical structures are not the same. You should also be aware that even slight chemical structure differences can result in vastly different effects.

http://www.erowid.org/ask/ask.php?ID=2846

Additionally, Ritalin has a prescribed dosage where as meth is self medicated and self-prescribed with wildly different strengths resulting in wildly different psychoactive effects as a result. Frankly, your response is extremely irresponsible and ignorant.