In northern India, rats are being accused of eating the hundreds of kilograms of marijuana that were seized from drug dealers.
According to a court in the city of Mathura, the animals aren’t scared of the police. The court was informed that the local police couldn’t provide the authorities with the exact amount of drugs that were confiscated.
According to court documents, the police were asked to provide the authorities with 386 kilograms of marijuana.
However, the prosecution noted that the drugs could have been affected by the rats if they were stored in various stations in Mathura. This was allegedly not the first time the rodents had been attacking the police.
The court ruled that the police in Mathura should blame the rodents for destroying over 500 kilograms of marijuana that was seized in various cases.
The court then issued guidelines for the authorities to dispose of the drugs or auction them.
In addition, the court noted that there were rats in every police station. Hence, the authorities were required to make arrangements to safeguard the drugs. However, the exact details of the incident are not clear.
After the court case, Mathura’s police superintendent told CNN that the marijuana was not destroyed by rats and was destroyed due to the heavy rains and flooding that occurred in the area. He also maintained that the police report submitted to the court did not mention rats.
If the rats are found to be guilty, they might be taking things easy. In 2016, a study conducted by the University of BC revealed that the main psychoactive substance found in marijuana made lab rodents lazy.
In an experiment, the scientists trained 29 rats to perform a task. They were given either a simple or a more difficult choice.
The rats were usually more likely to perform the harder task. However, after being given marijuana, they were more likely to perform the easier task.