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Deputies, MBN agents dismantle meth lab |
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Saturday, 30 August 2008 |
 Brian Hawkins/SDN Left, technician from a Ridgeland environmental cleanup firm wears a hazardous materials suit as he sorts the chemical found in a clandestine crystal methamphetamine lab in a detached garage behind an Old West Point Road home late Friday afternoon. Below, Oktibbeha County Sheriff Dolph Bryan and Deputy Mahyar Netadj search a sealed box for possible drug paraphernalia outside the home. The owner of the house, 56-year-old Richard Richardson Jr., remains jailed on multiple charges. By BRIAN HAWKINS
Starkville Daily News
Response by sheriff’s deputies to a routine call led the discovery of a clandestine crystal methamphetamine lab behind an Old West Point Road home early Friday morning — a lab that required all day to clear after what were believed to be pipe bombs had to be defused by a bomb squad.
Richard Richardson Jr., 56, of 1152 Old West Point Road, was arrested by Oktibbeha County sheriff’s deputies and Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics agents on charges of methamphetamine possession and manufacturing methamphetamine. Richardson was being held in the Oktibbeha County Jail as of Friday afternoon. Information on whether his bond had been set was not available at press time Friday.
Sheriff Dolph Bryan said the methamphetamine lab was discovered shortly after 5 a.m. Friday when deputies responding to a call for service in the area pulled up behind Richardson’s home while attempting to locate those who had requested their assistance.
Deputy Charlie McVey saw Richardson walking out of the garage — which is detached and located about 20 yards from the house — and smelled methamphetamine, Bryan said. McVey has several years of experience dealing with the drug since he once headed the Methamphetamine Task Force within MBN.
“It appears that the suspect was actually in the process of making the methamphetamine,” said Bryan.
MBN agents were called to the house to assist in gathering evidence and in dismantling the lab, which requires the involvement of hazardous materials suits since many of the chemicals used in making methamphetamine — often referred to as “meth” for short — have a high toxicity. Fumes from some of the chemicals can cause severe respiratory system injury and be potentially fatal, MBN agents said.
As MBN agents and deputies were conducting their initial search of the lab, they came across what they believed were simulated pipe bombs, Bryan said. The bomb squad from the Tupelo Police Department was called to remove the potential explosive devices using two robots controlled from a command center within a commercial truck.
Removal and deactivation of the six simulated pipe bombs using the robots took about 3 hours Friday afternoon. Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents were also at the scene.
“Though we believed they were harmless, we didn’t want to take any chances,” said Bryan.
Sheriff’s deputies and MBN agents confirmed there were several grams of what was believed to be recently “cooked” methamphetamine recovered, as were the various chemicals used in making the drug, which include the over-the-counter cold medication ephedrine, denatured alcohol and other chemicals.
All of the recovered chemicals and methamphetamine samples are to be sent to the State Crime Laboratory in Jackson for testing, MBN agents said.
An environmental cleanup firm from Ridgeland assisted MBN agents and deputies in dismantling the lab. Several firearms were recovered from the garage where the lab was located, including some light automatic weapons, officials said.
Additional charges against Richardson are pending as the investigation continues, said Bryan, who would not comment on whether Richardson has a prior criminal history.
Friday’s methamphetamine lab bust was the first such bust in Oktibbeha County in nearly four years, though various methamphetamine possession cases have been reported in recent years.
Manufactured in clandestine labs with materials that can be purchased at local discount stores and co-ops, methamphetamine is classified by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration as a stimulant capable of producing a “high” lasting anywhere from 10 to 14 hours with symptoms of increased alertness, excitation, euphoria, increased pulse rate/blood pressure, insomnia and loss of appetite. The drug’s withdrawal symptoms include apathy, long sleep periods, irritability, depression and disorientation.
An overdose of meth produces agitation, fever, hallucinations, convulsions and can be fatal, according to DEA classifications.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 31 August 2008 )
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