House fire leads to meth lab discovery inside townhome in NE Harris Co.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The Harris County Fire Marshal's Office confirms it found more than $2.5 million worth of drugs inside a townhome that erupted in flames Wednesday night in northeast Harris County.
Investigators say the first sign of trouble came around 9:30 p.m. when firefighters from the Eastex Fire Department were called out to the scene in the 12000 block of West Village Drive.
Heavy smoke and flames poured from one unit and soon the fire spread to a second unit.
At first, the firefighters went in the home, but things got so bad they had to pull out and fight the fire from the outside.
A search was conducted for victims within the burned out townhome.
Shortly after the fire was out, firefighters found what appeared to be methamphetamine and called out the HazMat team.
They went into the burned home in special protective suits.
Investigators allegedly found a long list of illegal items inside the residence, including:
- 28.5 pounds of heroin with a street value of about $1.8 million
- 95 pounds of methamphetamine with a street value of nearly $838,000
- 1 pound of possible fentanyl
- 4 pounds of possible fentanyl powder
- 1 gram of possible fentanyl residue within a package
- 1 individual gram of methamphetamine
- 1 Smith & Wesson AR-15 rifle with 2 drum-style magazines
- 1 Hi-point .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun
- 1 body armor vest
There are no arrests this time, however this investigation is ongoing.
All safety precautions and safety equipment were utilized for the possible exposure of fentanyl.
Crime Stoppers will pay up to $5,000 for information leading to the charging and/or arrest of the suspect(s) in this case.
Information may be reported by calling 713-222-TIPS (8477) or submitted online at crime-stoppers.org.
