Suspected meth lab found under a Wal-Mart parking lot
Police in western New York found more than they bargained for at a Wal-Mart in suburban Buffalo on Monday.
They found a suspected meth lab in a sewer under a Wal-Mart parking lot.
Authorities in Amherst, N.Y., said the lab was in a culvert big enough for a person to stand up in and it wasn’t secured, so anyone could have entered it, according to WGRZ in Buffalo. Officers found it while doing a routine patrol of the area.
Crews are coming up from underground @news4buffalo pic.twitter.com/M2caFSNyI6
— Callan Gray (@CallanGray4) August 8, 2016
“We check in various areas that people who might be up to no good, might be using for no good,” Amherst police captain Scott Chamberlin told WIBV in Amherst.
Authorities found a spray paint can, chemicals and a liquid they suspected to be methamphetamine. Police, fire and Hazmat crews set up shop right in the parking lot to test them. Officials determined there was no threat to shoppers and the store remained open.
Look at the items they found. Apparent underground meth lab in Walmart parking lot @WGRZ pic.twitter.com/8DUbomuSVp
— Claudine Ewing (@ClaudineWgrz) August 8, 2016
“I seen men suited up, and I didn't know if somebody got hurt or, you know, I didn't know,” shopper Marie Jamieson told WGRZ.
“And then I was talking to somebody, and they said it was a meth lab. I’m like a meth lab? In Wal-Mart’s parking lot? You know, that's crazy.”
Police plan to look for suspects by reviewing surveillance video from the Wal-Mart parking lot.
Homeland Security is assisting local authorities in the investigation.
“This isn’t the kind of thing you’d expect in a place like this, that’s the bottom line,” resident Steve Harding told WIVB.
This story was originally published August 9, 2016 at 4:38 PM with the headline "Suspected meth lab found under a Wal-Mart parking lot."