GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Prescription drug drop boxes can be found at police departments all over the state and they are supposed to be an easy way for people to discard old or unused medications.
But last week the Green Bay Police Department found more than what they bargained for while emptying the box located in their lobby.
“The department personal that emptied the drug box, located a rolled up brown paper bag, similar to a lunch bag, inside a Ziploc bag. When they peeled the bags apart, because they wanted to determine what was inside the bag, they located a white powdery substance. That white powdery substance was later determined to be cocaine,” said Captain Kevin Warych.
It ended up being around 11 grams of the drug.
“Yeah, it’s a lot. When you speak to our narcotics investigators that just under half an ounce. Value wise it’s approximately $500,” said Warych.
He says nothing like this has ever happened before and they empty their drug box about every two weeks.
Warych says other items have been found in the container too.
“We encourage people to drop off their prescription drugs. Sadly, we’ve seen people drop needles in the drug box. There are warnings for people not to drop any needles and those can be disposed of at other proper locations within the city.”
Ashwaubenon Public Safety Captain Jody Crocker says they’ve had issues in the past with syringes and liquid medicines being placed in their drug drop box…but not anymore.
“Since then our box has been modified to only except pills in singular forms, so even the bottles don’t go in the containers any more.
Attorney General Brad Schimel recently announced the April 29th Drug Take Back Day was record breaking with over 66,000 pounds collected across Wisconsin.
There are 328 permanent drug disposal drop boxes located around the state.
