Police catch criminal using Ebola Facebook hoax

A Texas police department found a novel way to catch drug takers this week after posting a fake alert on its Facebook page warning residents of Granite Shoals that the heroin and meth supply had been tainted with the Ebola virus.

The warning (below) warned readers that the local drug supply had become tainted and that concerned people in possession of said drugs should take their stash to their local police department so it could be “screened.”

Breaking News: Area Meth and Heroin Supply Possibly Contaminated With Ebola.
Meth and Heroin recently brought in to Central Texas as well as the ingredients used to make it could be contaminated with the life threatening disease Ebola. If you have recently purchased meth or heroin in Central Texas, please take it to the local police or sheriff department so it can be screened with a special device. DO NOT use it until it has been properly checked for possible Ebola contamination! Contact any Granite Shoals PD officer for testing. Please share in hopes we get this information to anyone who has any contaminated meth or heroin that needs tested.

Of course the warning was just a hoax. Granite Shoals police department had found it funny and posted it on their Facebook page, probably not expecting anyone to actually take it seriously.

However someone did. 29 year old Chasity Hopson. She bought in her drugs and, unsurprisingly, was duly arrested for possession of a controlled substance.

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The fake alert has received much praise for its ingenuity but also plenty of criticism, with many complaining about the underhand tactics used to trip people up. The police department later posted Chasity’s mugshot and name on their Facebook page, identifying her as the “winner of the Facebook post challenge.”

Whether posting these types of hoaxes to try and catch out criminals is going to be standard police procedure in Granite Shoals remains unclear, but we’ll be keeping an eye out for more. Do you agree with such out-of-the-box tactics or think the authorities should stick to more orthodox ways of catching criminals? Let us know.