Is There a Meth Lab Operating Right Under Your Nose
Compiled by: Don Penven, Tech Support
Many state law enforcement agencies are reporting a downward trend in finding clandestine meth labs. There are two principle factors that influence this phenomenon; availability of pseudoephedrine, a critical meth ingredient, has been made extremely difficult to get with state laws requiring retailers of certain cold remedies to maintain a logbook of purchases, and meth lab operators are becoming more resourceful in setting up and maintaining their operation.
In a recent article appearing in the Raleigh News & Observer, Cary, NC police charged a resident of a nearby community with felony manufacturing of methamphetamine. The subject was carrying a portable meth lab in the backpack he was wearing at the time of arrest. The suspect’s method of travel was a motor scooter.
Police across the Nation report finding “rolling” meth labs housed in tractor-trailers, SUVs, station wagons and vans. This method seeks to avoid detection during the meth manufacturing process, since strong toxic fumes are given off during the process, which could easily be detected in a residential area. Also, the toxic waste that remains after the synthesis of the drug can be dumped along the roadside or discarded in wooded areas. Some meth entrepreneurs even attempt to “cook” up a batch while the lab is rolling down the highway. Police had to shut down a portion of Interstate 24 in Kentucky when a container of anhydrous ammonia exploded inside a rolling lab.
Some manufacturers may or may not be aware of the hazards involved in transporting some of the substances used during the manufacturing process. Case in point: a pair of individuals employed empty propane tanks to transport anhydrous ammonia. Obviously unaware of the corrosive properties of this material, the passenger in a vehicle, being totally oblivious to the potential danger involved, sat the tank between his legs—then it exploded.
But solid structures are still the mainstay of this often-times hit and run, booming business. Clandestine labs have been found in virtually any structure one can imagine: apartments, condos, motel rooms, abandoned warehouses, barns and houses nestled in quiet residential neighborhoods. Here are some of the tell-tale signs:
WHAT TO LOOK FOR – APPEARANCE OF THE STRUCTURE
From the Illinois Attorney General’s Office
A house or other structure containing a meth lab usually has one or more of the following characteristics:
UNUSUAL ODORS – Making meth produces powerful odors that may smell like ammonia or ether. These odors have been compared to the smell of cat urine or rotten eggs.
COVERED WINDOWS – Meth makers often blacken or cover windows to prevent outsiders from seeing in.
STRANGE VENTILATION – Meth makers often employ unusual ventilation practices to rid themselves of toxic fumes produced by the meth-making process. They may open windows on cold days or at other seemingly inappropriate times, and they may set up fans, furnace blowers, and other unusual ventilation systems.
ELABORATE SECURITY – Meth makers often set up elaborate security measures, including, for example, "Keep Out" signs, guard dogs, video cameras, or baby monitors placed outside to warn of persons approaching the premises.
DEAD VEGETATION – Meth makers sometimes dump toxic substances in their yards, leaving burn pits, "dead spots" in the grass or vegetation, or other evidence of chemical dumping.
EXCESSIVE OR UNUSUAL TRASH – Meth makers produce large quantities of unusual waste that may contain, for example:
- packaging from cold tablets
- lithium batteries that have been torn apart
- used coffee filters with colored stains or powdery residue
- empty containers – often with puncture holes – of antifreeze, white gas, ether, starting fluids, Freon, lye, drain opener, paint thinner, acetone, alcohol, or other chemicals
- plastic soda bottles with holes near the top, often with tubes coming out of the holes
- plastic or rubber hoses, duct tape, rubber gloves, or respiratory masks.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR – BEHAVIOR OF THE OCCUPANTS
Some "telltale signs" of a house containing a meth lab relate not to the appearance of the structure but rather to the behavior of its occupants. You should look for:
PARANOID BEHAVIOR – Meth makers tend to act in a manner that is extremely paranoid and secretive. For example, they may monitor passing cars, show great suspicion toward strangers, and – as noted above – construct elaborate security systems around their homes.
STAYING INSIDE – Residents of houses containing meth labs may remain inside their homes for extended periods of time. Many meth addicts and meth makers are not only paranoid and secretive, but also unemployed.
SMOKING OUTSIDE – By the same token, residents of houses and other structures containing meth labs often go outside to smoke. They do this to avoid igniting a fire or explosion when matches, lighters, or cigarettes come into contact with the highly combustible chemicals and fumes found in a meth lab.
FREQUENT VISITORS – Although residents of a house or other structure containing a meth lab may stay in or near their homes, they often receive a large number of visitors, especially at night. These visitors may be bringing supplies, taking away meth, using meth, hanging out, or any combination of these activities.
MOBILE GARBAGE – To avoid detection of their illegal activities, meth makers may burn their trash, place it in the trash collection area of another house or building, or cart it away and dump it elsewhere.
The chemicals and materials required to manufacture meth are many and varied and most are extremely hazardous. The chart below from the DEA Office of Diversion Control lists the most commonly used substances:
As one can plainly see, the process of "cooking" methamphetamine is dangerous. The various chemicals often used are not only highly toxic, but some are also flammable and explosive. And so long as the demand for meth exists, there will be willing participants in the marketplace to see that the demand is met. .
The fact that these hazards do exist should also serve as a warning to those charged with collecting physical evidence.
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