SLIDELL, La. — A woman was arrested Monday after Slidell Police discovered she was selling and using meth inside her ice cream truck.
In a bizarre case Tamisha Morin, 42, was booked while travelling along Old Spanish Trail in her ice cream truck, “Tami’s Ice Cream & Sweet Treats”.
Police said they found melted ice cream, meth and other drug paraphernalia inside. Slidell Police received reports the owner was allegedly using and selling meth from the truck.
St Tammany Fire Protection District 1 Chief, Chris Kaufmann says he’s seen a 20% increase in overdoses over the last three years across the Slidell city limits and outskirts.
“You’re seeing the meth, heroin, fentanyl seems to be everywhere right now and that seems to be the most lethal drug we are seeing today,” Kaufmann said. “Already in 2023, I have had 44 overdoses we have responded to as of today.”
Chief Kaufman said the department gets many calls of possible overdoses at gas stations off the interstate. He said sometimes firefighters find an unconscious person inside their car with a needle still in their arm.
“I can tell you when drugs are being sold because we get multiple overdoses, in a small geographical area.”
January this year Slidell Police made their biggest meth seizure in the city’s history. Finding a total of 52.2 pounds of crystal meth worth $500,000 dollars.
In November, police said they found meth, ecstasy and fentanyl. Then back in June, police said they seized 128 grams of Crystal Meth.
St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer Sgt. Suzanne Carboni addressed the city's history with drugs.
"In the past couple of years the number of arrests being made for meth appears to have plateaued . Despite some recent arrests, we are not seeing an increase in meth use in St. Tammany,“ Carboni said.
Despite that, Chief Kaufmann said, the city still has too many drug overdoses.
“This past year, we ended 2022 with 205 overdoses here in our Fire District 1 area, we have a 100,000 people that we service here in St Tammany perish, its actually alarming,” Kaufman said.
One lifelong Slidell resident says she’s seen how drugs can destroy local families.
“I have a grandson who is in rehab, I have a neighbor, 38 years old who O.D.-ed,” She said. “I have seen almost a scary change in the increase.”