Suspected meth lab discovered

Police recovered all the makings of a suspected meth lab in the basement of a Prospect Street residence Tuesday night after the homeowner reported finding some suspicious items.

Sgt. Brent Slider confirmed the items appeared confined to the basement, consisting of all the various materials needed to manufacture the drug methamphetamine, commonly known as meth.

The woman who owns the home in the 900 block of Prospect Street came to the police station at 5:15 p.m. on Christmas Eve to report finding suspicious items in her basement that appeared drug-related. She told police she let a male and female live with her and they recently left. She believed the items belonged to them.

According to the report, officers responded to the residence with the Salem Fire Department and found the drug-related items inside the home. Officers stood by until members of the Columbiana County Drug Task Force and a chemical clean-up crew responded. The fire department stood by and monitored the air quality.

Slider said agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Criminal Investigation also responded. Two containers which had possibly been used to manufacture meth were also found.

No arrests were made, with the incident still under investigation. No injuries were reported.

This makes at least the fourth residence in the city this year where materials to manufacture meth were found. A suspected meth lab was uncovered in February at a home on South Howard Avenue at the corner of Pershing Street, then materials were found in a home on South Broadway Avenue in May. A suspected meth lab was found in an apartment in October at the opposite corner of Pershing and Howard.