BAY ST. LOUIS (AP) - Authorities say manufacturers of methamphetamines are quick to adapt to changes within the drug landscape.
Even so, Chris Russell, a drug agent with the Hancock County's Sheriff Department, said he was surprised when the newest wrinkle - homemade anhydrous ammonia - showed up so fast.
With security tightening around industrial plants where chemicals used to make methamphetamines are stored, narcotics agencies around the country have been alerted to look out for makeshift anhydrous ammonia labs. The chemical is used in the production of meth.
"It's getting harder and harder to steal (anhydrous ammonia), so they're now trying to make it," said Matt Karl, director of the narcotics division. "But people don't realize how dangerous this stuff is; it's like playing with dynamite."
Authorities believe a law surfaced Wednesday in Hancock County.
Russell said authorities got a call that a Hancock County man had collapsed in his home off Flemming Road after inhaling fumes from a bucket a friend had left in his home. A short while later, investigators found that the bucket contained anhydrous ammonia and was likely part of an illegal meth lab.
The discovery led to the arrest of a Carriere couple, who were caught by the Pearl River County Sheriff's Department later Wednesday after the meth lab was discovered.
Michael Brayson, 30, and Traci Ann Brayson, 41, were charged with manufacturing a controlled substance and possession of precursors in the manufacture of a controlled substance. Both were being held on $40,000 bond at the Hancock County jail.
Authorities said the couple was using their friend's home, which was being remodeled, to manufacture the anhydrous ammonia, which is illegal to own without a permit. The home's owner discovered the chemical Wednesday after peering into a bucket in the house, Russell said.
The man, whose identity was not disclosed, immediately succumbed to the vapors and passed out, Russell said. Both the homeowner and an unidentified witness, who called police, were later treated at a Picayune hospital for exposure to the gas. They were treated and released.
July 5, 2003