Photo Gallery | 5 arrested in meth lab bust
Officers with the Lexington County Multi-Agency Narcotics Enforcement Team arrested three men and two women and seized a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory that was being operated at a home on Longview Street near Lexington.
According to Lexington County Sheriff James R. Metts, NET officers arrested 33-year-old Brian Keith Benson, 50-year-old Ernest Charles Lake, 54-year-old Cynthia Harsey Nantz, 37-year-old Tony Rosco and 36-year-old Amber Nicole Stacy on a charge of manufacturing methamphetamine on May 22.
Deputies say NET officers developed information that a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory was being operated at a home at 623 Longview Street, where Lake, Nantz and Stacy live.
Deputies went to the home around 8:53 p.m. in order to investigate whether a methamphetamine laboratory was being operated on the property, the report stated.
Upon arrival, officers detected a strong chemical odor they recognized as an indicator that a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory was being operated on the property, according to sheriff’s deputies.
The report says officers observed a black bag on the front porch of the Longview Street home that contained three reaction vessels.
Deputies say chemicals that are used to manufacture methamphetamine were stored in the three reaction vessels. According to deputies, officers seized a small amount of methamphetamine.
Officers located Benson, Lake, Nantz, Rosco and Stacy standing near a camper in the home’s backyard, the report stated.
Officers say they arrested Benson, Lake, Nantz, Rosco and Stacy after determining that the three men and two women all were involved in operating the clandestine methamphetamine laboratory.
Metts asked anyone with information about illegal drug activity in Lexington County to call the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department at (803) 785-8230 or CrimeStoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC.
