Investigators determine suspicious package sent to attorney general contained meth
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
The suspicious package sent to the Missouri Attorney General's Office in April contained methamphetamine, according to records ABC 17 News obtained from the Missouri Department of Public Safety.
In April, two suspicious packages were sent to state buildings. The first, sent to the Broadway Building on April 5, 2023, was determined to be coffee creamer. The second was sent next door to the Missouri Supreme Court and addressed to Attorney General Andrew Bailey on April 25, 2023. No one was arrested for either incident.
Although state spokespeople told ABC 17 News early on that both packages were non-toxic, the package sent to Bailey's office was determined to contain meth, an illegal drug, according to the Missouri Capitol Police incident report.
Several Jefferson City police and firefighters rushed to the Capitol around 4 p.m. the day of the discovery. The report reveals that the Missouri State Highway Patrol Bomb Squad alerted the Missouri Capitol Police investigators just before 5 p.m. The package was received around 10 a.m., according to the report.
There were several smaller packages inside a white United States Postal Service box. The innermost package was a small silver box investigators said resembled a pill box. The Missouri State Highway Patrol X-rayed the package to reveal a "'crumbled' unknown substance,' according to the report.
The 7th Civil Support Team was called in to test the substance, according to the report, but didn't arrive until around 10 p.m. because the team was in Kansas City. The substance tested positive for meth.
The return address on the package was Alex Vasquez of Inglewood, California. However, investigators determined the address was false, according to the report. The address is censored because the true residents of that address are not believed to have any connection to the package.
No arrest was made or motive determined. There was no letter or anything to indicate what the substance was, according to the report.
The report said the investigators assumed the package could contain harmful substances or be a threat because political offices can often be tied up in controversy.
"[Jay Atkins, the Attorney General's Chief of Staff] stated the substance might be harmful as the political nature of the Attorney General often can cause civilians to become angry with his opinions," the report reads.
Threats to government officials
Missouri's government officials have dealt with many suspicious incidents or possible threats recently.
Following the two suspicious-package incidents in April, another suspicious package was sent to the governor's office at the Missouri Capitol in October. It was determined not to be hazardous, according to Gov. Mike Parson's press secretary Jonathan Shiflett.
Last week, fake bomb threats were called into many state capitols across the country. The threat happened to land on the first day of the 2024 legislative session for Missouri. However, Missouri did not evacuate the Capitol.
Sunday, Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft was the target of a swatting call.
Swatting is making a prank call so that police swarm an address on false information.
No motive was released to the public for the swatting call or fake bomb threats.
When the attorney general received the suspicious package, Bailey's office was preparing to argue in a lawsuit over access to gender-affirming treatments. The weekend Ashcroft was the target of a swatting call, he'd made comments about removing President Joe Biden from the ballot if Maine were to remove former president Donald Trump from its ballot.
