‘Rolling Meth Lab’ Sparks Evacuation, Road Closure In Manchester

MANCHESTER, NJ — A citizen’s report of a suspicious vehicle led to the discovery of a rolling meth lab in Pine Lake Park and the arrest of three people on Monday, Manchester police said. The discovery [of the meth lab] forced police to shut down a street in Pine Lake Park for five hours and evacuate a home nearby, Manchester police Capt. Todd Malland said. Police responded to a report of a suspicious white van which was parked in a wooded area near the the 2000 block of Larchmont Street Monday shortly after 3:30 p.m., and Patrolman Matthew Juralewicz found the van a short distance away on the 600 block of Middlesex Street, and subsequently stopped it, Malland said. Juralewicz soon found the vehicle was displaying license plates that had been reported stolen in Berkeley County, South Carolina, Malland said. During the course of the investigation, officers located several items within the van that were consistent with the manufacturing of crystal methamphetamine, a highly addictive drug which creates a devastating dependence that can only be relieved by taking more of it, Malland said Due to the potential volatility of some of the components involved in the manufacturing process of crystal meth, the items of concern were removed from the vehicle and placed a safe distance away, he said, and the New Jersey State Police Hazardous Materials Response Unit, the Berkeley Township HazMat Team and the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Arson Unit were called to assist with the identification of the materials and to render them safe, Malland said. As a precaution, one residence was evacuated until the scene was deemed safe, and Middlesex Street was closed between Sixth and Seventh avenues for about five hours, he said. Once the van and its contents were rendered safe, it was seized for further investigation, Malland said. The van’s driver, Demetrius Kiprakis, 30, of Goose Greek, South Carolina, was charged with first-degree manufacturing of methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of a controlled dangerous substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a hypodermic syringe and possession of stolen property, Malland said. He is being held at the Ocean County Jail in lieu of $410,000 bail, according to jail records. Bryan Sahlin, 29, of Middlesex Street, was charged with first-degree manufacturing of methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of a controlled dangerous substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a hypodermic syringe, Malland said. He also is being held at the jail in lieu of $410,000, according to jail records. Roseanna Fox, 57, of Toms River, who also was in the car, was charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of a controlled dangerous substance, distribution/manufacturing of drug paraphernalia, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a hypodermic syringe, Malland said. Fox is being held at the jail in lieu of $85,000 bail, according to jail records. Also assisting at the scene were investigators from the Manchester Township Police Investigations Bureau and Narcotics Enforcement Team as well as detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Special Operations Group and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigations (CSI) Unit. Emergency services personnel from the Ridgeway and Manchester Volunteer fire departments also responded and assisted at the scene, as did squad members from Quality Medical Transport, he said.

This story retrieved from: HazMatNation.com

Citation: Hazmatadmin. “‘Rolling Meth Lab’ Sparks Evacuation, Road Closure In Manchester – HazMat Nation.” HazMat Nation. Fire EMS, 13 Sept. 2016. Web. 14 Sept. 2016.