New Hampshire law enforcement was investigating a car dealership for issuing fraudulent inspection stickers when they came across the materials and paraphernalia for producing methamphetamine. Oops.
According to local news affiliate WMUR9, police found ingredients and tools used to cook methamphetamine inside Auto Alley on New Hampshire’s Route 28.
WMUR9 reports that it all began with a traffic stop conducted by the local police force, who discovered a fraudulent inspection sticker and contacted state police to investigate. The sticker was traced back to a shop called Auto Alley, where authorities discovered that the dealership was affixing inspection stickers from to other cars to various vehicles without going through the proper procedures to “pass” a car.
From WMUR9:
“It appears they were taking inspection stickers off of vehicles that had been legally issued and then reapplying them to vehicles that had not been inspected,” [New Hampshire State Police Staff Sgt. Andrew] Player said.
As they dug deeper, investigators then came across what appeared to be a methamphetamine-producing operation as evidence from tools and a device that is specifically designed to cook meth.
The New Hampshire Department of Motor Vehicles has suspended Auto Alley’s inspection license and the investigation is still ongoing, according to WMUR9. No charges have been filed, but anyone involved could face charges for drug production and issuing false inspection stickers.
Authorities issued a statement saying that anyone who received an inspection sticker from Auto Alley should go to an authorized state inspection station to have a new one issued.