Kern County Authorities Dismantle Secret Meth Conversion Lab; Five Arrested
TAFT, CA — Authorities have reportedly arrested five people in connection with the discovery of a meth conversion lab in Kern County.
According to a press release by the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, law enforcement concluded an investigation into the lab, located on the 700 block of North Street, on July 2.
The investigation involved personnel from the Sheriff’s Office, the High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, Rural Crimes Investigations, Bakersfield PD, and the Department of Fish & Wildlife, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Four people detained at the lab — identified as Abraham Casarez, 21; Jorge Castro-Medina, 43; Emanuel Carmen, 40; and Julio Valencia-Hurtado, 38 — were taken into custody.
A fifth suspect, identified as 45-year-old Lauriano Castro, was arrested on the 4900 block of South Union Avenue in Bakersfield.
All five suspects were booked on suspicion of manufacturing a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of sales, maintaining a residence or place for drug sales, and conspiracy to commit a crime.
