Something strange is going down at the King County Sheriff Department. According to a just-released report, packages of drug evidence held at the Property Management Unit are over time becoming significantly lighter. And because state auditor Brian Sonntag didn’t find evidence that the packages had been tampered with, there are only a few other explanations. Either the evidence storage room is home to a very rare species of narcotic-eating weevils, or the staff needs a refresher on how to use the office scale.Turns out, it’s the latter. Brian Sonntag’s office reviewed 14 cases and found that the packages were, in some instances, as much as 40 percent lighter than they were when they first entered department custody. Given that the amount of narcotics sold or possessed factors heavily in most drug-related prosecutions, that seems like a pretty important thing to get right. But according to the report, the Sheriff’s office doesn’t have formalized guidelines for weighing and packaging evidence. That would explain the inconsistencies. And why some officers were including other items in their measurements. According to the report, the officer overseeing the evidence in one case included two tins and a wooden cutting board in their final tally. When weighed later, the package of cocaine weighed 15 ounces less than the amount recorded initially. Writing in the response section, the department acknowledges the lapse. Why the officer in that case didn’t realize that a wooden cutting board might throw off the accuracy of the measurement is a mystery that goes unaddressed.