According to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics (NCDAS), almost 32 million people (11.7% of the population) were actively using drugs as of 2021, with marijuana, prescription stimulants, and methamphetamines as the most popular drugs of choice. More than 100,000 overdose deaths occurred last year at the hands of Heroin and powerful synthetic opioids such as Fentanyl. No doubt drugs are addictive and are a problem. What happens when a child enters the picture?
The US drug market on average spends over $100 billion annually on drugs.
In another study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, it’s found that 10% of US adults have had a drug use disorder at some point in their lives.
Story time…
The Covert Results office was contacted by concerned grandparents, saying their daughter and son-in-law were both using a hard drug, specifically heroin. This was because the grandparents were contacted by worried friends of the couple saying that one of them had recently overdosed and went to the hospital. While in the hospital, they asked to get the strongest dose they can — until they overdose. That was their goal because the higher high they can get, the better it is for them. As crazy as that sounds, this is common among the people that use heroin.
Knowing the truth, the grandparents asked Covert Results to help them get custody of their 5 year old grandchild, with the goal of keeping the child in a safe environment. After meeting with the grandparents, we put a plan in place. We started by gathering background information on both the parents of the child, and discovered both have criminal histories. We also did public records requests, calls for service requests at their address— and found that there were numerous calls to the police and to other emergency services. There were also numerous overdose reports on both parents over the last year. After we gathered all of our intel, we conducted camera surveillance in their apartment complex in the Middle Tennessee area, and what that revealed was cars coming and going at all hours of the night. It could be seen on film that at times one or both of the child’s parents would come down from the apartment door and conduct a hand-to-hand transaction with a random person — pulling up and receiving through the driver window.
It was helpful that the owner of Covert Results, and several other licensed private investigators with Covert Results are deemed subject matter experts in the field of narcotics. In this case, it was helpful to show that these hand-to-hand transactions were likely drug transactions. From there, we then conducted physical surveillance that corroborated what was being seen on the video camera. We also were able to obtain information from a neighbor, who provided some helpful information, about how the parents were currently trying to get around a drug test that was required by the court to keep custody of their own child.
All these tools we utilized: camera surveillance, physical surveillance, deep dive background checks, and interviews. After all this work, the court was able to grant custody to the grandparents and they eventually adopted the child. This was obviously a good turnout for our clients. It was only unfortunate that the parents chose drugs over their child.
Drug abuse is on the rise, which in our opinion Covid-19 contributed to. It is unfortunate that at times there will be one parent, or both parents who are addicted to drugs, which will make them unfit to take care of a child. Until they can rehabilitate themselves, then it’s best if the child is with someone that will take good care of them.
Covert Results is the premier private investigations, armed security, cyber security, and training company you’ve been searching for. Our team of highly skilled experts has amassed over 100 years of experience in all fields, from investigations to security concerns. Being a member and working within a global network called The Entrepreneurs Organization allows us to provide excellent service anywhere on Earth – truly bringing peace of mind through our world class services! Be sure to follow @CovertResults across Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn for the latest information regarding investigator expertise as well as lighthearted moments shared by our community! If you need us to guide you to that peace of mind you are looking for, call or text 615-861-1680 or email contact@covertresults.com.
