DEA raids suspected Chula Vista meth lab

CHULA VISTA (CNS) – Federal investigators sought Thursday to identify the drug traffickers who transported more than 100 pounds of liquid methamphetamine to a South Bay apartment to prepare it for the illicit narcotics market.

Aided by police and hazardous-materials personnel, agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration raided the unoccupied residence in the 700 block of Broadway in Chula Vista on Wednesday night, DEA spokeswoman Amy Roderick said.

Inside, they found the methamphetamine, which was in a fluid state used by Mexican gangs to make it more difficult to detect while being smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico border. Once in the United States, the substance is treated with acetone and water and evaporated into a crystalline solid that can then be sold on the streets.

There were no immediate arrests, Roderick said.