Pubdate: Mon, 10 Feb 2003
Source: FSView & Florida Flambeau (FL Edu)
Copyright: 2003 FSView & Florida Flambeau
Contact:  http://www.fsunews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1364
Author: Kim Finch

IMPOUNDED DRUGS UP IN SMOKE

TPD discusses its methods disposing seized illegal drugs

"The biggest amount I've ever seen impounded was when we confiscated a kilo 
of crack," said Audie Rowel, a narcotics investigator for the Tallahassee 
Police Department.

The first thing people smell when they walk into the storage unit is 
marijuana. Rows upon rows of bins stacked high to the ceiling filled with 
coke, ecstasy, crack, prescription drugs, bongs, crack pipes, heroin and 
pot are all here in the TPD's holding unit for impounded narcotics.

Any drugs or paraphernalia that are found within the city limits are 
brought here. Recently, the Narcotics Interdiction Team uncovered 25,000 
pills of ecstasy, whose new home has become this holding cell.

Any and all types of drug paraphernalia imaginable are probably somewhere 
in this room. Within the confines of these walls, they even have a guitar 
that was fashioned into a bong. But this is only a halfway point for these 
seized drugs. There is a long process that must happen in order for the 
drugs to make it to their final destination.

"First, we have to fill out a chain of custody form," Rowell said. "That's 
basically a documentation of who is in possession of the narcotics at all 
times before it gets impounded. If I'm the officer who discovers them, then 
I initiate the form, until they make their way down to the impound room, 
where a judge has the ultimate decision of when they'll make their last stop."

Once the narcotics have made it to the storage unit, a court order must be 
issued in order to destroy the drugs in question. Narcotics that are 
attached to a case as evidence get more shelf life than others with no case.

"Drugs with cases tend to stick around longer than those without cases," 
property and evidence supervisor Patti Wallace said. "The oldest case we 
have on the shelves right now is from 1996. Drugs with no case file are 
immediately sent to the incinerator. If I were to find a couple of pills or 
something on the ground, those would be in and out of the system 
immediately. They'd make it to the incinerator quickly."

When the narcotics have been given their court order, an officer must 
escort them to their last stop: an incinerator in Havana, Fla.

"The smoke from the incinerator is filtered, so you can't actually smell 
the drugs being burned. Of course, we do this so that we don't have people 
hanging around getting high off the fumes," Rowell said.

Since this is a college town, the drug scene here isn't as severe as it is 
in other big cities. Marijuana is what comes through their doors most 
often. There is no 'drug season' in Tallahassee like there's a robbery 
season. Drugs are only less of a problem when the students go home during 
their breaks.

So, to answer the question that's burning a hole in some minds: Has 
anything ever been stolen from the TPD's narcotics holding unit?

"Nope, we've never had any drug thefts from the station," Rowell said.