Walmart Meth: Woman Caught Shoplifting Cooks Meth In Holding Room, Cops Say

A Missouri woman caught shoplifting hoped to steal an opportunity to cook up some meth, police said.

KSDK reports that an unidentified woman detained for shoplifting at a south St. Louis County Walmart started cooking meth in a 20-ounce soda bottle while she was in the store's holding area, according to authorities.

Meth is flammable, so the store was evacuated and temporarily closed as a safety precaution, the station reported.

"The sergeant on the scene that helped to dismantle it said that it was cooking when they showed up, and had the potential to become flammable or blow up at any time," St. Louis County Police Lt. Mark Cox told KMOX.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the woman was not caught shoplifting anything related to meth production.

Cox told the paper that the number of people cooking small, portable quantities of meth is on the rise, but this case was still abnormal.

"Taking it into Walmart is very unusual," he said.