Ventura County Sheriff's deputies responding to a call about a chemical burn found an underground drug lab in a Thousand Oaks apartment complex Friday.
Authorities discovered chemicals and equipment to manufacture the synthetic opioid fentanyl and possibly other drugs, according the Ventura County Interagency Pharmaceutical Crimes Unit.
A loaded shotgun was also found inside the apartment.
Anthony Albert, 22, of Thousand Oaks was arrested in connection with the case, the PCU said. Another person in the apartment called 911 after Albert spilled concentrated fentanyl powder on his skin and suffered a severe reaction, said Ventura County Sheriff's detective Stephen Egnatchik.
The PCU is not looking for any more suspects related to him or the case, Egnatchik said.
Fentanyl is often bought cheaply outside the United States in concentrated powdered form that distilled down into usable substances and sold on the black market, where it is often used with a much more popular drug, Egnatchik said.
"Most heroin on the market right now is cut with fentanyl at some level," Egnatchik said. "[Albert] purchased pure fentanyl and used his lab to break it down from the lethal concentrated dosage into a smaller amount that could be usable."
News
Top news of the day
Egnatchik says that this is the first lab of this type he remembers encountering in Thousand Oaks, but the practice of importing, breaking down, and selling fentanyl on the black market is common throughout the United States.
The lab contained an estimated three gallons of chemicals, the PCU said. The chemicals are awaiting tests from the Ventura Sheriff's Crime Lab, and they may show that Albert was planning to produce other drugs in addition to fentanyl, according to Egnatchik.
"During the search warrant, [we] located a notebook that had formulas for other drugs, [such as] LSD, methamphetamines, and ecstasy," Egnatchik said.
Officers from the Los Angeles Interagency Metropolitan Police Apprehension Crime Task Force, or LA Impact, removed the chemicals from the apartment using hazmat suits and breathing equipment. Neighbors were advised to either evacuate or stay inside their homes while the extraction was taking place.
Albert was released from custody on bail and awaits a court appearance for manufacturing a controlled substance.
