
Police in India have blamed rats for destroying nearly 200kg of cannabis seized from criminals and kept in police stations.
A court in the country heard how the rodents had in some cases eaten the marijuana being kept as evidence.
The judge cited three cases in which marijuana was destroyed by rodents.
A statement read to the court said: βRats are tiny animals and they have no fear of the police. Itβs difficult to protect the drug from them.β
Judge Sanjay Chaudhary said in an order that when the court asked the police to produce the seized drug as evidence, it was told that 195kg of cannabis had been βdestroyedβ by rats.
In another case involving 386kg of the drug, the police filed a report saying βsomeβ of the cannabis was βeaten up by the ratsβ.
Judge Chaudhary told the court around 700kg of marijuana seized by the police was lying in police stations in Mathura district and that βall of it was under danger of infestation by ratsβ.
He said the police had no expertise in dealing with the matter as the rats were βtoo smallβ. The only way to protect the seized goods from βsuch fearless miceβ, he added, was to auction the drugs to research labs and medicine firms, with the proceeds going to the government.
