Friday, February 15, 2013

Southern Illinois tipster mistakes maple syrup collection operation for meth lab

"The equipment used to make maple syrup looks like the equipment people use to manufacture meth," and that led a Southern Illinois police tipster to the wrong conclusion, reports Jason Hibbs of WPSD-TV in Paducah, Ky.

Maple trees can be tapped for syrup anywhere, not just in Northern states, but the practice is less common the farther south you go, and the anonymous tipster who saw the equipment in Union County, Illinois, and called the cops. They saw it was just a maple tap, set by the family of Laura Benson for their own use.

Benson "said she never thought about selling the sweet syrup, but in small town America, gossip travels fast and the sweet syrup quickly turned into the talk of the town," Hibbs reports. So many people have asked to buy some, Benson said maybe the mixup will be the start of a 'sweet' new business. . . . Benson said she's glad people cared enough to call the sheriff." (Read more)

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