COST OF METH LAB CLEANUP COULD FAR EXCEED BOND SET FOR SUSPECT

A cleanup operation that lasted all day and into the night after a
methamphetamine lab was discovered in northern Sampson County yesterday
will cost three times the amount of bond set for the person accused of
operating the drug operation.

Robert Edward Walker Jr., 27, of 482 Ira B. Tart Road, Dunn, was charged
Tuesday evening with manufacturing methamphetamine, maintaining a place to
manufacture methamphetamine, possession of marijuana and possession of drug
paraphernalia. Magistrate Robert Naylor set his bond at $4,000 an arrest
report showed. He had posted bond and returned home before the cleanup
operation was complete.

Walker is charged with setting up a clandestine laboratory where the
ingredients are "cooked" to produce methamphetamine, commonly referred to
as ice, crystal, or glass. Once the cooking process is complete, the drug
is sold as a powder or small chunks that are smoked, injected, snorted, or
inhaled.

U. S. Drug Enforcement Agent Rob Balis said the operation Walker is accused
of setting up would cost between $10,000 and $15,000.

Ferguson-Harbour Inc., a company based in Tennessee, had a hazardous
material team cleaning a barn located behind 482 Ira B. Tart Road, and in a
wooded area next to the residence Wednesday.

"Normally the cleanup operation takes a couple of hours," said Chad
Sturgill, a hazardous materials technician. "This is taking longer because
of a tank of anhydrous ammonia."

The chemical, once commonly used by farmers to fertilize fields, is a
cryogenic gas that freezes when released. The large tank found at the
methamphetamine lab had frozen and the releasing process was expected to
take up to 24 hours.

Agent Balis said anhydrous ammonia is a necessary product in the "cooking
operation."

Clandestine laboratories present numerous hazards to people and the
environment. The chemicals and other products used in the operation are
extremely explosive and hazardous. The sites where labs are found are
considered hazardous waste sites and proper cleanup is required.

Agent Balis said restitution for the cost of a clandestine laboratory
cleanup may, or may not, be imposed to the person charged with operating
the lab. The discretion falls upon the judge that imposes sentencing if the
defendant is found guilty in court.