Meth Labs!

[AlphaOp]

So I've been hearing that in the Erie county area people have found meth dump sites or labs hidden in wooden areas. Has anyone here had the misfortune of finding a lab or lab dump site?

[+New England n00b]

Seems like I heard about something in Canada last year... can't remember for sure.

 

I have heard that sometimes people are boobytrapping their 'pot fields' against cops/park rangers. Should you come across that kind of thing, leave it be and call the cops. Regardless of whether drugs are good/bad debate, it'd suck to have some kid go off the trail to 'do his duty', so to speak, and be hurt by some jerks traps. Also, avoid the men with machine guns...

[+SERG312]

I read an interesting article in an issue of Field and Stream ( I think ) about this topic. I will try to find it and post it soon. I haven't come across any meth labs but have come across some pot crops in the woods. I've heard these meth labs are somewhat of a problem in other parts of the country but I don't think its an issue in Jersey.

[+sledgehampster]

Definately an issue here in NW Georgia. Most jobs here are at one of 3 industries and all are in the crapper. Everyone is just waiting to see which one folds or swims across the Rio Grande first. I work at an auto parts store P/T and a guy that just got out of jail for a meth lab the day before was in to buy fuel line deicer...it's in the low 80's here!!! Some people just don't learn.

[cujo0123]

I wouldn't know what to look for! I'm clueless about that stuff. Boobytraps? Clueless again! I'd be the first one to fall for it!

[AlphaOp]

One story I heard was a meth chef who was trying to get ammonia. So he decided to sneak into a chemical depot and drill a hole into a 10,000 gallon ammonia tank. The guy realizes that ammonia fumes can be pretty dangerous and decides to jet. Hazmatlarity ensues.

[+Green Achers]

So I've been hearing that in the Erie county area people have found meth dump sites or labs hidden in wooden areas. Has anyone here had the misfortune of finding a lab or lab dump site?

Oh, Ya... One of my caching friends was heading home from Oregon and stopped to hunt a cache at a rest stop. After a brief search of the area, he found the ''cache'' under a board in a field. Only, there were two caches and both wrapped in red shink wrap. He took out his bubba teeth and started doin' some thinkin'.

 

''I'm standing out in the wide open, holding two large bricks of someone's drugs. Maybe the cache is still near by.'' So he put the drugs back, found the cache which was several feet away, went back to the parking lot and called it in.

 

It was a few hours of different levels of law enforcement responded and each questioning him [Tell us again what you were looking for Mr... Geocasher, is it?]. BTW, It was a Meth ready for transport.

 

Drugs are one thing but I heard about a cacher that was stopped and asked to verify something in the bushes in the Bay area one day... Yep, it was a dead body.

[+Sparky-Watts]

Yup...this was the first of two I found within a week of each other.

 

 

This one had it all: tubing, cook bottle, lithium batteries, cold tablet packages.......

[+forman]

Good old Google. Not sure of the cost.

 

My First Meth Lab

Get them started right

 

Too many people have died in my area from meth labs gone wrong, so why not teach them right? With the Playskool "My First Meth Lab Kit" you can teach your toddler to become a successful druglord safely! Yes, little Billy will learn how to: use various household chemicals as substitutes for other ingredients, cut the purity with various agents, sell low quality crystals at high quality prices, dispose of the notorious "death bag" with ease, keep the cooking smells to a minimum so as not to alert the neighbors, and even how to elude police just like my cousin Jason! He's like Batman!

 

Kit includes: Beakers, chemicals, 9mm handgun, cell phone, and a bottle of chocolate milk.

 

http://www.halfbakery.com/idea/My_20First_...20Lab#994107296

 

Don

[+Team Fegel]

I seem to recall a case recently in the Denver area where the death bag was disposed of in a highway rest stop trash can. Someone went to throw something away and pushed the trash down with his hands, rupturing the bag. I dont think he died, but there was serious medical problems. Supposedly it would have killed a smaller adult or kid.

 

So if you find a trashbag in the woods, dont puncture it.

[+flask]

death bag?

[+Sparky-Watts]

death bag?

I've never heard it called that, either, but somehow it does seem quite fitting!

[_mo_]

death bag?

halfbakery.com is a hysterical satrical site.

[Geo Quest]

I work at an auto parts store P/T and a guy that just got out of jail for a meth lab the day before was in to buy fuel line deicer...it's in the low 80's here!!! Some people just don't learn.

While I realize the guy you are talking about probably did have a nefarious reason for his purchase (based on his history with drugs) I would like to point out that there are ligitimate reasons for buying fuel line de-icer when it is 80 degrees outside. I use Heet brand fuel line de-icer as fuel for my homemade backpacking stove. Now I know why I get weird looks sometimes when I buy it during the summer. I'm totally ignorant when it comes to the drug world. I have no idea what a "death bag" is either.

[+bons]

Someone out here posted a DNF on a local cache I've visited twice. They mentioned finding meth making equipment. I quickly realized two things.

1) I have no clue what the heck meth making equipment even looks like.

2) For some obscure reason he does...

[+Sparky-Watts]

Someone out here posted a DNF on a local cache I've visited twice. They mentioned finding meth making equipment. I quickly realized two things.

1) I have no clue what the heck meth making equipment even looks like.

2) For some obscure reason he does...

[+fly46]

I've never found a meth lab in the woods, but my dad's g/f used to live in a duplex (her son lives there now) that is side by side with another duplex owned by the same landlord..

 

Now, in this other unit, there was a problem, and the police were watching for quite some time.... Supposedly he never had a reason to go in the basement for three years straight (we think he was in on it and getting a cut), where there was a huge meth lab.

 

It did explain the wierd people that would park the next road over, cut through the yard, in front of g/f's duplex and then go to the other place.

[+Logscaler and Red]

One clue you should know about.

 

Cat urine.

 

If your ever walking to a cache and you get a smell in the air that is like cat urine, turn around and walk back the other way.

 

There used to be labs in the area we live in. When ever that certain "smell" was in the air first thing in the morning when the air was heavy, we knew it would not be long until there was a lot of "extra" traffic on the local roads. Then it would not be long until there would be SWAT people with APC's blocking the access roads. The next day stories would be in the paper and on TV about another raid.

 

But after a while, things changed for the better.

 

Also, be on the watch for motorhomes and travel trailers stashed in the brush. A lot of them are stolen and used for labs.

 

logscaler.

[+Sparky-Watts]

One clue you should know about.

 

Cat urine.

 

If your ever walking to a cache and you get a smell in the air that is like cat urine, turn around and walk back the other way.

 

There used to be labs in the area we live in. When ever that certain "smell" was in the air first thing in the morning when the air was heavy, we knew it would not be long until there was a lot of "extra" traffic on the local roads. Then it would not be long until there would be SWAT people with APC's blocking the access roads. The next day stories would be in the paper and on TV about another raid.

 

But after a while, things changed for the better.

 

Also, be on the watch for motorhomes and travel trailers stashed in the brush. A lot of them are stolen and used for labs.

 

logscaler.

Very good points, logscaler.

 

One other thing about the smell of cat urine: My uncles and I were walking through the timber on our farm and smelled that really thick. We got to looking around and all the trees around us had really deep claw marks 4-5 feet up the trunks! This was in the same area we found a deer carcass up about 50 feet in the crotch of a tree a few years ago. Only one thing could do that: Mountain lions. Either way, I don't want to come across a mountain lion or an active meth lab in the woods. I'm still surprised we haven't found any meth labs on our land, as it is way out in the middle of nowhere and would be a perfect spot for it.

[Team KPD DJ]

I work at the police department here my city and I am currently working with our narco boys to write an article for the newsletter

 

"How to recognize a meth lab and what to do." I hope it will be done in time for the may issue.

[+devaleo]

After reading the previous posts...I have done some research on the "Death Bag".

Here is some information: "For every pound of Meth, an additional 8 pound of toxic waste are created. Phosphine gas, a product used in chemical warfare, is a by-product of the final stages of the "cooking" process. If vented into common air ducts, phosphine can kill neighbors. Phosphine dispensed into a bag of kitty litter or a black plastic bag with a suitable clay absorbent material, called a "death bag", presents the same peril. Opening a death bag can cause death within seconds."

 

For additonal information, please visit: http://www.remotevideopatrol.com/RVP%20Meth%20Labs.pdf

[+DavidMac]

I've never come across anything like that in the woods, but several years ago we had some neighbors whose bathroom caught fire twice in a relatively short period of time . Not long afterward, we saw an ambulance in front of the house and found out later that one of the tenants had died suddenly of "natural causes." Sure.

 

They moved out shortly afterward.

[+Zzzoey & illDRIVEuNav]

Ahhh.. that nice whiff of cat pee in the morning. Of course, some folks think Juniper smells like cat urine. I don't. I do know that clothing or bedding that our cats have peed on.. can RESMELL at the worst times. Usually when you are sweating and it's hot outside.

 

All our cats live outside now, for obvious reasons. Male cats can be pretty evil.

[Jamethiel]

Think I found a dump yesterday at a park entrance. Very nasty smell, acidic, and a wicker basket full of hoses and who knows what laying in the parking area next to a box of empty Heet. I still have a sore throat and a bit of an headache from the fumes so I reported the stuff to the local police. I'll have to drive by tonight to see if anyone has been to the location. Thanks to mimms for posting that pdf link, it was enough to confirm my worries about the stuff. I am sure whatever is there can't be good for you.

Always expected to find that stuff in the woods, not a neighborhood park next to a daycare.

-Jennifer

[+Team Fegel]

Here's what happened to me today:

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?LU...81-ff9f5131cd31

 

Does this mean I read the forums too much?

[+Strapped-4-Cache]

One clue you should know about. 

 

Cat urine. 

 

If your ever walking to a cache and you get a smell in the air that is like cat urine, turn around and walk back the other way.

 

There used to be labs in the area we live in.  When ever that certain "smell" was in the air first thing in the morning when the air was heavy, we knew it would not be long until there was a lot of "extra" traffic on the local roads.  Then it would not be long until there would be SWAT people with APC's blocking the access roads.  The next day stories would be in the paper and on TV about another raid.

 

But after a while, things changed for the better. 

 

Also, be on the watch for motorhomes and travel trailers stashed in the brush. A lot of them are stolen and used for labs.

 

logscaler.

Very good points, logscaler.

 

One other thing about the smell of cat urine: My uncles and I were walking through the timber on our farm and smelled that really thick. We got to looking around and all the trees around us had really deep claw marks 4-5 feet up the trunks! This was in the same area we found a deer carcass up about 50 feet in the crotch of a tree a few years ago. Only one thing could do that: Mountain lions. Either way, I don't want to come across a mountain lion or an active meth lab in the woods. I'm still surprised we haven't found any meth labs on our land, as it is way out in the middle of nowhere and would be a perfect spot for it.

Oh my gosh. I've just made the connection. Mountain lions have started making meth labs! What is this world coming to?

 

Sorry for the levity - I got up waaaaay too early this morning and haven't had my coffee yet.

 

S-4-C

[chemfed]

Which sounds better:

 

Meth Lions or Crank Cats?

[+Team Flying Dachshund]

crack cats.

 

That story would not be something I could ever imagine. Down here not much happens in the wasy of drug busts. Some of the cops are crooked. It is very sad to see some of your friends waste there lives

[+nfa]

One clue you should know about.

 

Cat urine.

 

If your ever walking to a cache and you get a smell in the air that is like cat urine, turn around and walk back the other way.

 

There used to be labs in the area we live in. When ever that certain "smell" was in the air first thing in the morning when the air was heavy, we knew it would not be long until there was a lot of "extra" traffic on the local roads. Then it would not be long until there would be SWAT people with APC's blocking the access roads. The next day stories would be in the paper and on TV about another raid.

Oh My God...

 

I think that there must be a meth lab in my sister-in-law's apartment...

 

It often smells like cat pee...

 

The 3 cats are probably sharing profits from the lab for their cover activities...

 

I'm going to call the police right now...

 

nfa

[+Imajika]

Usually you're not going to find a functioning meth lab in the woods. What you will find are remnants of labs. When people move them out of their houses, they will often dump parts of them in the woods.

 

The main thing is DO NOT TOUCH IT if you think it's remnants from a lab. CALL THE POLICE and let them remove it.

 

I found part of one once when I was on a hike. It was a large bag of unopened kitty litter. They use it for some sort of filter when making their drugs. I just called the police and within about 10 minutes, the police were there and they put on masks and such and hauled it away to dispose of it.

 

I work in law enforcement so I know what to look for. Perhaps I will make a post in the main forums letting people know what to look for and DO NOT TOUCH IT!

[+Imajika]

One clue you should know about.

 

Cat urine.

 

Some people also say that when someone is running a lab in their home, neighbors will often smell a STRONG scent of dirty diapers.

[+Big Tom]

METHLABWHATMETHLABINEVERFOUNDAMETHLABIDON'TKNOWWHATYOUARETALKINGABOUT

MANIWISHICOULDSLEEP

Big Tom

[+Beta Test]

Yeah I hope I never run into any of that stuff. Just wanted to say I like the Avatar of Team Flying Dachshund. RedvsBlue is good stuff. " I cant belive I actually died for this war..."

[+Torry]

I've come across their dump sites but never the actual labs. The only time I came close to a lab was at a motel I was delivering to. The creeps were using a van in the parking lot to mix their stuff. Seems the "ol' lady wouldn't let 'em do it in the room because of he children.

[Archaeologist-PA]

I have a seasonal job at a national forest, and we were warned about stumbling upon potential meth labs and booby-trapped marijuana plots in the woods. Haven't found anything yet, though, nor do I wish to!

[+sbukosky]

Fortunately none have been reported found in Wisconsin, that I am aware of. It has been a concern of mine however. I think this is one of beneficial aspects of geocaching in that the increased foot traffic will discourage such activities.

[kayaker22589]

I have heard that sometimes people are boobytrapping their 'pot fields' against cops/park rangers. Should you come across that kind of thing, leave it be and call the cops.

People have been doing that for ages. When I went camping in Cocke County Tennessee one year we found some weed and there was a shotgun in a tree pointed towards the entrance. There was a tricky to see wire that was rigged to the trigger.

[Pilgrim, Rhubarb, & Sweet Pea]

Never stumbled across the remains of a meth lab or into a pot crop, but while hunting for a cache in a remote area I did find a small box. I knew it wasn't the cache, but opened the box and realized I had found someone's stash. There was all sorts of paraphernalia in there, little baggies and what not. We considered removing it and either giving it to the police, or flushing it down the toilet or something, but considering that Pilgrim was in the hiring process of a new job, we figured if we happened to get pulled over on the way home, trying to explain the box of goodies would be tough, and not look good for those doing the hiring! So we left it.