SAN ANTONIO -- It was a nasty smell that awoke neighbors in the Rayo del Sol apartments, and the odor led uniformed officers to an upstairs unit… turned meth lab.
Police arrived on Friday morning where they found not food on unit 306's stove, but something else cooking: a concoction of chemicals to make a highly addictive methamphetamine.
Narcotics teams quickly opened windows to air out the home, which was unoccupied when officers arrived.
“We’ve certainly got some people of interest we’re going to be talking to,” said San Antonio Police Sgt. Javier Salazar.
Police said it is up to apartment managers to decontaminate the unit because the chemical residue in the carpet, walls and sinks create a hazard to everyone living in and around it.
“There’s always a danger of chemical burns to the residents and to the officers responding," Salazar said. "There’s also always a danger of explosion or fire.”
Already, neighbors were warning their children to stay away. John Garcia, 17, was taking his younger brother out of the area.
“There are a lot of kids, a lot of kids around riding bicycles, playing tag, so my dad told me not to be going outside because of all this stuff,” Garcia said.
