Meth lab worth millions uncovered near Humble

A strong odor leads deputy constables to uncover a massive drug operation worth millions of dollars nestled in a quiet Humble-area neighborhood.(Harris County Precinct 4Constable's Office)

A strong odor leads deputy constables to uncover a massive drug operation worth millions of dollars nestled in a quiet Humble-area neighborhood.(Harris County Precinct 4Constable's Office) Photo: Constable's Office Photo: Constable's Office Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Meth lab worth millions uncovered near Humble 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

Suspicious activity and a strong odor at a Humble-area house Monday night led authorities to a meth lab and about 40 pounds of the drug valued at more than $2 million.

The discovery was made about 8:45 p.m. at 20000 block of Bolton Bridge near Walnut Ridge in the Kenswick subdivision, said Lt. S. Cupit of the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office.

Deputies were dispatched to the home on a welfare check after a neighbor reported suspicious activities and the odor at the house. When deputies arrived, they knocked on the front door but no one answered. They looked around outside the house and found the back door wide open. They looked inside briefly and saw what appeared to be bags of crystal methamphetamine as well as components used to manufacture the drug. No one was inside the house.

Cupit said the deputies obtained a search warrant for the home. When they went inside they found several plastic bags of meth as well as propane gas, a camp cooking stove and other equipment commonly used to cook meth.

Cupit said about 40 pounds of meth was recovered. It has a street value of about $2.5 million, he added.

Deputies also found shotguns, rifles and revolvers in the home. One of the guns may be a Thompson machine gun.

It appeared the people who had been in the house left in a hurry, said Capt. Wally Wieghat, of Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office. He said deputies found meth drying on the floor and several large chunks of meth crammed in the toilet as though the people were trying to flush them down the commode. They may have seen deputies arrive at the home and tried to get rid of the drug, he said. But perhaps they realized there was too much of the drug to dispose of and then they quickly left out the back door.

Wieghat said it was the largest cache of the drug he had seen in his area. He said his office often seizes a few ounces of meth at a time, but finding pounds of the drug was uncommon. The meth lab was undoubtedly a large operation.

"This is a considerable amount of meth," he said, "a large amount of narcotics."

Deputies were investigating the home to determine who owns it and who may have been using it. So far, no arrests have been made in the case.