ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) - The Buncombe County sheriff says an enzyme found in cheese triggered false drug test results that led his officers to think a man with 91 pounds of tortilla dough was actually carrying that much cocaine.
The Asheville Citizen-Times reports Antonio Hernandez spent four days in jail in Asheville earlier this month before tests by a state lab came back showing he was carrying food instead of drugs.
A deputy stopped Hernandez on May 1 and found what turned out to be a mix of cheese, shrimp and tortilla and tamale dough in his truck. A portable kit used by deputies changed colors, indicating the mixture was illegal drugs.
Officials at the state lab said they have seen false positive drug test results from food before, but it is rare.
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