DRUG RAID LEADS TO ROAD CLOSURE

'Unidentified Devices' Prompt Decision By Officials

Two "unidentified devices" found Monday night during a raid of a suspected
methamphetamine lab prompted officials to close an east Macon street for 2
1/2 hours. At 6 p.m., firefighters dressed in full gear and donned oxygen
masks as they entered a house on Trinity Place to investigate the alleged
lab, while officers from several law enforcement agencies stood by outside.

In the process, they found more than they bargained for.

J.T. Ricketson, assistant in charge of the Georgia Bureau of
Investigation's Macon drug office, said the first officials to enter the
house found materials to make methamphetamine and two "unidentified devices."

Two cooking pans were filled with a clear liquid, Ricketson said. Resting
in the pans were glass jars that contained filaments. The devices were
plugged into electrical sockets. Investigators initially thought the
devices could be booby traps or explosives.

"We just backed up until we could get our experts out here," Ricketson said.

Parts of the residential street were closed while crews investigated the
devices.

Officers with the Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit determined the devices
were not dangerous. Crews then worked to dispose of the lab.

Ricketson said "someone associated with the house" told investigators the
devices were designed to repel insects, but investigators said they had
never seen anything like them before.

Macon Police Chief Rodney Monroe said methamphetamine labs can be
dangerous, even without bombs or booby traps. Ingredients include
pseudoephedrine, fertilizer, charcoal starter fluid and lithium batteries.
Fumes from the chemicals can be deadly, and the volatility of the
ingredients can be worse, Monroe said.

"Explosion is always a concern," he said.

The events leading up to the bust began at 3 a.m. Monday In Bleckley County.

Deputies with the Bleckley County Sheriff's Office arrested two individuals
and found fertilizer often used in the methamphetamine production process.
The two men lived in the Trinity Place house in east Macon.

Monroe declined to release the names of those arrested, nor would he
release their charges. He said the investigation is continuing.