Local law enforcement using computer system to track meth ingredient sales
3.30.15 – Dan Howell, KWQC TV
Area law officers are brushing up on new methods to track sales of a key ingredient to make methamphetamines.
Pseudoephedrine, found in some cold medicine, is a main ingredient in making meth. While there are laws in place to try to prevent drug dealers from getting cold medicine, it hasn’t always worked in the past.
Now, cold remedies with pseudoephedrine are sold behind the counter and require an ID to buy it. With a new computer tracking system called “n-plex,” authorities can know sooner when large quantities are being sold.
“It really was a reactive approach even though there were laws in place,” Client Relationship Manager at Appriss, Inc., Krista McCormick said. “So with a national database, all the information is in real-time, to the point where law enforcement know before a person walks out of the store whether they purchased or was blocked from purchasing.”
Officials say since being introduced in Illinois five years ago, n-plex has kept 160,000 grams of pseudophedrine from the hands of criminals.
Read more here.