An inmate work crew found what turned out to be components of a meth lab on Rockingham Road Thursday, according to a Washington County Sheriff’s Department official.
“A cleanup crew was checking the sides of the road. They saw some things they recognized (as meth by-products)," Lt. Doug Gregg said.
Sheriff’s investigators have alerted bus crew officers about what to look for as they lead inmate groups on trash pick-up duties. That information was passed on to inmates working on those crews, Gregg said.
After inmates alerted their supervisor, Gregg and Investigator Jeff Miller responded to the scene and called the Tennessee Meth Task Force.
Gregg said investigators located five “gassers” which is the part of the meth process that creates fumes in the final production, two one-pot labs and lithium batter strips.
The items were scattered along about a one-eight mile section of the 300 block of Rockingham Road.
Gregg said there was a fire in the same area last weekend that was apparently caused by another one-pot lab that was thrown off the side of the road.
He said the items located Thursday were “fairly new,” because the bottles had not weathered. The items were in three different trash bags, one which also contained several hypodermic needles.
Gregg said if anyone in the public knows anything about the meth dump, they can call the sheriff’s office at 788-1414.