No amount of defensive driving can prepare a driver for the hidden danger that was recently lurking the streets of North County.
Sheriff’s deputies busted a mobile methamphetamine lab in Vista Thursday night. Inside was a cocktail of chemicals that had the potential to go off like a car bomb.
The deputies had been on patrol on the 900 block of South Santa Fe Street in Vista when they noticed three people sitting suspiciously in a white pick up.
“There was some drug paraphernalia and amounts of drugs found in the vehicle,” Deputy Jason Scroggins said.
When they opened the camper shell, the deputies found all of the equipment and ingredients needed to cook methamphetamine.
“None of this stuff was secured to the truck. It was all loose inside,” Deputy Tim Clark said. “There were enough precursor chemicals inside that vehicle along with the equipment to make a substantial amount of methamphetamine.”
Investigators say mobile labs allow drug makers to hide in plain site.
“A mobile lab you can travel. Pick up the stuff you need to in different locations. So you don¹t raise suspicion, so you find some place seclude and quite to cook your methamphetamine,” Scroggins said.
The deputies say this particular lab had the capability to make about an ounce of methamphetamine in eight hours.
“They get into a vehicle accident, the chemicals get splashed, and gas is released during the accident. Maybe a spark goes off and it can be a huge explosion. A lot of people could get hurt,” Clark said.
The methamphetamine found in this case carries a street value of between $1,100 and $1,500.
