Raccoon found trying to smoke meth on driver’s seat in traffic stop

Most traffic stops lead to nothing more than a ticket and a ‘be on your way’.

Not so for officer Austin Branham who had the shock of his life when he found a raccoon trying to smoke meth in the driver’s seat.

The cop pulled over driver Victoria Vidal, 55, in Springfield, Ohio, who had an active warrant and suspended driving licence.

But when officer Branham went back to the car he found the mammal, prompting him to exclaim: ‘Oh, hey, come here, the raccoon has her meth pipe.

‘He’s playing with the meth pipe, right now’.

He then laughs harder and shouts: ‘He’s trying to smoke it’.

It turned out that the raccoon was actually a pet called Chewy.

Officer Branham told him ‘alright, enough fun and games’, before pulling the meth pipe away.

Springfield Township Police Department posted on Facebook: ‘Thankfully, Chewy the raccoon was unharmed, and notification was made to the proper authorities to determine that she has the proper paperwork and documentation to own the raccoon.

‘While our officers are trained to expect the unexpected, finding a raccoon holding a meth pipe is a first. No raccoons were hurt or injured in this incident.’

After Chewy’s pipe was confiscated, what they found in the rest of the car wasn’t quite as cute: a large stash of meth, crack cocaine and three used glass meth pipes.

Vidal was charged with possession of drugs, three counts of possession of drug paraphernalia, and was cited for driving under suspension.

She was also turned over to Cuyahoga Falls Police for her active warrant.

The additional charges related to crack cocaine possession will be presented at Grand Jury pending lab results.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.