680 pounds of drugs and drug paraphernalia to be incinerated
May 19, 2020
On May 5, the Eden Prairie Police Department's evidence technician and a supervisor took a road trip to a waste management facility in Alexandria where they delivered 680 pounds of drugs and drug paraphernalia to be incinerated.
The items transported were once evidence for cases but are no longer needed––the case may have been adjudicated or is outside of the statute of limitations.
Approximately 75% of the drugs and drug-related items came from cases generated by the South West Hennepin Drug Task Force, which is comprised of investigators from Eden Prairie, Edina, Minnetonka, Hopkins, St. Louis Park and the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office.
Before delivering the items to Alexandria, Eden Prairie Police Department staff catalog each item to create a record. They are boxed by teams of two, and then two people – including one law enforcement officer – drive the boxes to the facility. There were 29 boxes in the May 5 load.
The facility has an incinerator that destroys the items, then provides the department with a certificate that verifies the items were properly disposed.
Typically, Eden Prairie disposes of drugs and related items in this manner twice per-year, which is dictated by the amount of storage space available in the department's evidence room.