Pickup Truck Meth Lab

Like in so many stories, crimes get discovered because of an error or a not-too-wise action on the part of the drug trafficker. Time after time people are stopped because of traffic infractions or because of broken taillights or non-working parts. One would think that with all of the money involved in the drug market, that they would be able to afford a good mechanic to keep the attention off of themselves. But then, if some of them are using also, their brains are somewhat altered so that they will not think all of these logical steps through.

Over in Palestine in Anderson County there was a report of a suspicious and perhaps abandoned vehicle off of CR 173 on September 8, 2011. When they arrived, the officers found a Ford extended cab pickup parked in a woodsy area. Anderson County Sheriff Greg Taylor said, “They looked in the truck and there’s all the makings of a meth lab.”

In other words, inside the bed of the truck they found cookware containers; hoses; coffee filters; drain cleaner; lithium batteries; sulfuric acid; salt; fertilizer; Coleman camp fuel; a food processor; a gasoline can; hydrogen peroxide; and according to the sheriff, “a white, powdery substance that tested positive for ephedrine.”

From then through Monday the law officers were searching for Reuben Clark Albin, age 31, the owner of the Ford pickup truck. They received a tip that he could be found in the Southside Trailer Park on Monday afternoon. Sheriff Taylor said that, “The homeowner let them in and he (Albin) was hiding under the table when the officers went in. They took him into custody without incident. During a search incident to his arrest, they found a little less than a gram of methamphetamine secreted inside a lighter in his pocket.”

Albin was arrested initially for possession of less than 1 gram of a controlled substance and for an earlier burglary from another parish. The Sheriff thought it was very likely that he would also be charged with intent to manufacture a controlled substance.