(MOBILE, AL) Oct. 8 -- Mobile County investigators arrested two men on meth charges. They say one is them, is a major player in the Mobile meth industry.
Sheriff Sam Cochran says this database helped deputies nab the biggest buyer of meth making drugs in Mobile County. Joe Zeigler was arrested after police say he bought pseudoephedrine from local pharmacies. John Moorer was also charged.
"The deputies were focused on them from recent purchases," Cochran said. Purchases that pharmacies are keeping track of.
Police enter that information into their database to find out who the meth cooks are in Mobile. Then, they track them down.
"We have undercover detectives watching these individuals," Cochran said. "We saw Zeigler and we knew what he was up to. We verified what he was doing and we caught him in the act."
This isn't just another arrest, the sheriff says it's a dent in overall crime, "These are the people when you go out and you find your garage has been broken into, your car has been broken into, house has been burglarized. It's people like this, people that are stealing to feed these drug habits and to manufacture dope."
The database has led to a lot of recent arrests, investigators say they are seeing a reduction in pseudoephedrine sales and that's leading to a reduction in local crime.
Zeigler is charged with manufacturing a controlled substance, violating probation, attempting to elude police, and trafficking amphetamine. Moorer is charged with manufacturing a controlled substance and trafficking amphetamine.
