By KELSEY AINSWORTH
July 18, 2012

Northeast residents need to be on the lookout for a dangerous new trend in illegal drug-making.

Law enforcement officials are finding more and more one-pot, “shake and bake” meth labs throughout the Kansas City area, and that gives police and fire officials great concern given the danger the labs present to the community.

“Shake and bake,” as it’s referred to in street language, offers a portable option for making meth instead of the stationary meth labs of the past.

These labs are very dangerous, and residents need to be aware of what to look for in order to identify one of the labs.

The labs use many common household items to make the meth, so it can be difficult to identify them.

According to Central Patrol Master Patrol Officer Jim Schriever, residents should be on the lookout for 20-ounce or 2-liter pop bottles with a brown or greenish sludge inside, 20-ounce or 2-liter soda pop bottles with a tube running out of the cap, lithium batteries (new or cut open), charcoal lighter fluid, acetone, plant fertilizer sticks, instant cold packs, pseudo-ephedrine pills, new or open blister packs, drain openers that contain lye or muriatic acid, table salt, aluminum foil or coffee filters.

“The cooking process itself occurs inside of the plastic soda bottles, and is a very dangerous process,” said Schriever.

“Cooking” inside these bottles poses many threats to both the cook as well as innocent bystanders who happen to be near the makeshift “lab.”

The dangers include inhaling the vapors associated with “cooking” the meth, or chemical burns or chemical fires caused by a rupture in the plastic bottle.

To report a suspected one-pot shake and bake meth lab, please contact the police department immediately and do not handle any of the contents inside the bottle.