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(From top left) Alvin Brown, Jason Bryant, Kara Smith, Jeremy Robertson and Bert Fairchild (Courtesy of Bernalillo County)
A routine traffic stop on Sunday turned into a full-blown meth lab investigation and the arrest of five Albuquerque residents, KOAT-TV reported.
Alvin Brown, Jason Bryant and Kara Smith all were arrested after police stopped the vehicle they were in and found evidence of a mobile meth lab inside, Action 7 News said.
That stop then led police to the front door of a mobile home where police said another suspect answered the front door with a bag of methamphetamine in his hand, KOAT-TV said.
When officers raided the home, Jeremy Robertson and Bert Fairchild were arrested after they tried to escape, the station reported.
All five of those arrested are suspects in other crimes, police told KOAT-TV.
Undercover narcotics detectives are saying meth labs are a 24/7 operation, according to Action 7 News.
“By keeping it moving around, it makes it harder to track where it is at any one time,” said one detective who declined to be identified. “If they’re not cooking, they’re out committing crimes, burglary crimes, property crimes. These guys all have property crime offenses and criminal records, also.”
Brown, 38; Bryant, 39; and Smith, 24, all are facing meth trafficking and conspiracy charges, while Robertson, 31, is being held on possession, evidence tampering and conspiracy charges and Fairchild, 42, is charged with conspiracy, according to Metropolitan Detention Center online records.
