Portable meth lab cleaned up

Tim Leeds Havre Daily News [email protected]

An accidental discovery led to the disposal of a methamphetamine laboratory in North Havre Monday afternoon, and the team leader of the local drug task force said charges are pending in the investigation. Pete Federspiel of the Tri-Agency Safe Trails Task Force said Tuesday that the task force received notice Monday afternoon that a resident had found suspicious items in a trailer on the 1600 block of 7th Street North the resident used for storage. “While removing items from storage he found a boxed meth lab somebody had placed there,” Federspiel said. The items, held in a duffle bag, included glass jars with liquid in them and a tank of anhydrous ammonia. Federspiel said the items in the bag are consistent with what would be used in producing meth. The task force called for a contractor from Idaho contracted by the Drug Enforcement Administration to dispose Of meth labs in Montana. After the task force cleaned up the items, including emptying the anhydrous ammonia tank with the aid of the Havre Fire Department, the contractor took the items for disposal, Federspiel said. He said the task force has a suspect in the investigation of the lab, and charges are expected to be filed pending the forensic examination of the evidence.