(Memphis) A man and women are in jail, accused of using homeless people to buy the ingredients to make meth.
Police say Callie Watkins and James Moore had a van full of people when officers busted them outside of a Target on Highway 64.
Police say they were after pseudoephedrine.
The drug is regulated now by the government and police say both of the suspects had already gone over their limit.
“I have been approached twice,” said Kenneth Douglas, who hangs around Memphis homeless shelters.
Formally homeless, Douglas says he’s seen the ploy in action.
“I was offered $20 one time,” said Douglas.
He’s been approached by people hoping he would use his ID and name to buy pseudoephedrine from behind the counter.
Memphis police say Callie Watkins and James Moore drove a van full of homeless people to Targets around town, offering them five bucks if they went in and got the drug.
They were busted after police say Moore tried to use someone else’s ID to by some himself.
When police showed up, they found Watkins and Moore inside a van with four homeless people in tow.
“If someone came in and got Sudafed, in two minutes there would be another one that came in,” said Dr. Charles N. Smith.
Pharmacist Smith says it’s a common scheme.
He stopped selling Sudafed a few months ago because of all the regulations.
The government is trying to prevent people from buying pseudoephedrine to make meth.
Pharmacists must put all purchasers’ names in a database.
Meth investigators say the database shows Watkins bought the drug 33 times in the last two years and was denied the drug nine times.
They say Moore purchased it 100 times since 2009 and got denied 11 times.
Laws make sure people can only buy a certain amount.
“Crystal meth is growing,” said Douglas.
It’s why police say Watkins and Moore needed homeless folks to buy the drug for them.
According to the police report, the homeless folks were not arrested, just Watkins and Moore, both of whom are charged with trying to manufacture meth.