LIMESTONE, Maine — Police in Limestone said last week they believe they recovered the remnants of a methamphetamine cooking operation.
After receiving a tip shortly after 12:30 p.m. on March 15, 2016 about suspicious items on Bog Road, police found a large soda bottle with a hose coming out of it, Limestone Police Chief Stacey Mahan said. He said the materials are commonly used in the so-called one-pot method, where methamphetamine is made in a single sealed container which is generally flipped upside down to cause the reaction needed to turn several toxic ingredients into the drug.
Mahan said this method generally produces methamphetamine in a smaller quantity, but doesn’t make it any less dangerous.
“We have not confirmed it, but we are pretty comfortable that is what it is,” he said. “It looks to me like someone threw it out of the window of a car.”
He said that the chemical reaction going on inside the container causes an extremely high amount of pressure to build up within the container after being shaken and this method can cause a large explosion.
Mahan said that the department has had different information coming in about one-pot methamphetamine making in the area, all of which has been turned over to the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency. He said that Officer Joey Smith, who has been specially trained to collect such hazardous containers and contents, collected the material found on Bog Road and also will turn it over to the MDEA.
The case remains under investigation.
The chief noted that such materials pose a hazard to anyone who comes into contact with them. He issued a warning to parents about inquisitive children possibly finding and picking up such containers, not knowing the danger.
“Make sure you talk to your kids about it,” he said.
