MITCHELL, IN — When a carwash employee noticed the business’s dumpster was smoking, he decided to investigate, WBIW.com reported.
The Sept. 12 story stated that Mark Neal, an employee at Crystal Clean Car Care, called police at 11:55 a.m. He reported that he thought he had found a meth lab, and it was still smoking.
Neal told the police that a person was going through the dumpster gathering used oil filters to recycle when they noticed the smoke. Police contacted the Indiana State Police Clandestine Team to dispose of the lab. It was a shake and bake or one-pot lab mixed in an old 2-liter Sunkist bottle.
Mitchell Police Chief Mike Hardman said these labs definitely pose a danger. “These labs are ticking time bombs,” Hardman said in the story. “If you come across a discarded container don’t touch it — contact the police. They will have to call the clandestine team to clean up the lab.”
The drug had been removed from the lab in the carwash dumpster, but there were residue and precursors that were still active and they caused the smoke. Since the lab was in the dumpster, it made for easy cleanup, but it was still a dangerous situation, according to the police.