Two arrested during Geneva meth lab bust
Two suspects are in jail following a month-long investigation into reported drug trafficking out of a Burrows Street address.
The male and female suspects were arrested Thursday morning, at 169 Burrows St., while authorities from multiple agencies executed a search warrant issued by Judge David Schroeder in Western County Court.
The search warrant was executed by detectives from the Trumbull Ashtabula Group (TAG) Task Force, Geneva Police Department, Ashtabula County Sheriff’s Department, Trumbull County Sheriff’s Department and Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Identification.
Det. Greg Leonhard said authorities received information of active meth labs in the upstairs apartment of the duplex home.
“The investigation was expedited because it was an upstairs/downstairs home, because of the obvious dangers to the people in the downstairs unit,” he said.
Leonhard said when authorities made entry to the apartment, detectives had to wear a full-body suit and self contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) because there was an active meth “cook” taking place.
Sheriff’s Department Detectives Taylor Cleveland and Shawn Ward neutralized the meth labs at the scene. Leonhard said the air quality inside the apartment had to be measured before investigators could enter the unit to search.
“We would have been there for hours longer without the support of BCI and three very well trained detectives from the Ashtabula County Sheriff’s Department,” he said. “They went in and made the whole area safe and neutralized.”
Leonhard said a total of 19 methamphetamine labs, active and inactive, were removed from the apartment as well as a large amount of other chemicals for manufacturing meth.
Authorities also seized finished product meth, heroin that was packaged for sale, drug paraphernalia and $231 in U.S. currency.
BCI sent two detectives from the Canton area with two trucks and will dispose of the waste from the scene, he said.
Meth oil will get sent to a lab to be weighed which will help authorities determine the charges that will be forthcoming for the two suspects, Leonard said.
“These are definitely felony one and felony two charges,” he said.
The two suspects were taken to Geneva City Jail and will be transferred to the Ashtabula County Jail. Leonhard said charges are expected to be filed by Monday.
The downstairs tenant was removed from the building for safety reasons and will not be able to return until the home is deemed safe, Leonhard.
Northwest Ambulance District and Geneva Fire Department also assisted at the scene.
“We took a lot of meth off the streets of Ashtabula,” Leonhard said.
Capt. Greg Wiley, of the Geneva Police Department, said the two suspects were responsible for a substantial amount of heroin and meth trafficking throughout the entire west end of the county.
“There has been a lot of traffic coming and going from that residence,” he said.