An Oklahoma City Halloween traffic stop resulted in the discovery of meth, oxycodone, and even a pound of liquid mercury. Kenneth Rankin is currently charged with possessing mercury, drug paraphernalia, and displaying an illegal tag, according to the OCDC.
On Halloween, police stopped a car and discovered significant quantities of meth, oxycodone, and even liquid mercury inside. Early on Tuesday morning, the Oklahoma City police pulled over a car for not using a turn signal when the driver turned into a private driveway. The officers were the ones who initiated the stop. During their interaction with the driver and passengers, law enforcement officials noticed burnt tin foil present inside the vehicle.
The authorities took into custody three individuals: Kenneth Rankin, the driver, along with Julie Whiteley and Alexah Bonds, who were passengers in the vehicle. Subsequently, the officers conducted a thorough search of the car.
In the course of their investigation, law enforcement officials discovered a pair of hypodermic needles loaded with a brown liquid. Upon searching Whiteley’s handbag, which was found on the passenger seat floorboard, officers uncovered plastic straws with melted tips and a handful of burnt tin foil. Additionally, they found a small plastic baggie containing 8 pills suspected to be Oxycodone, as well as another baggie containing approximately 6.5 grams of methamphetamine.
During the investigation, the police officers also carried out a search of Bonds’ purse, which was located on the back passenger floorboard. Upon searching, they discovered burnt pieces of foil as well as melted and burnt straws.
Upon inspecting the center console, law enforcement officials discovered a blue glass vial. Upon opening the vial, the officer discovered a substantial amount of liquid mercury. Unfortunately, some of it had spilled onto the passenger seat, requiring the Oklahoma City Fire Department’s HAZMAT team to be summoned for a cleanup operation.
Due to its toxicity, the vial was disposed of by the police. According to the police, they measured the weight of the vial containing mercury before disposing of it, and it was found to weigh 1.46 pounds.
The authorities have arrested Rankin, the driver, on multiple charges, including the possession of mercury. The state of Oklahoma strictly prohibits the possession of more than one pound of mercury unless there is evidence of title to the said mercury.
It is unclear why the vehicle contained mercury, but it’s worth noting that mercury is often used in the production of a dangerous substance known as “Super Meth” or P2P meth.
Several years ago, authorities cracked down on ephedrine-based cold medicines like Sudafed, leading to the addition of new ingredients in the production of methamphetamine. Acetone, cyanide, mercury, lye, sulfuric acid, and racing fuel are now included in the list of ingredients required for methamphetamine production.
The television series “Breaking Bad” has previously featured the use of mercury fulminate, a highly explosive mixture created by dissolving mercury in nitric acid and ethanol.
In the sixth episode of the first season, Walter White, the protagonist, opts for mercury fulminate instead of crystal meth during a drug transaction to trigger an explosion.
According to a spokesperson from the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, the use of mercury in drug production is not something they have come across before.
According to him, a few vials were previously deposited in OBN’s drug-takeback containers since mercury has medicinal properties.
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