Police search for mobile meth labs: 'One-pot labs' discoveries increasing across state

Residents out for a walk who find plastic bottles lying on the side of the road need to be careful: They might have the remnants of a meth lab.

Police refer to these small, mobile labs as one-pot labs. Cooks put all of the materials needed to make methamphetamine into bottles and leave them somewhere to mix for 30 and 60 minutes, Indiana State Police meth suppression commander Niki Crawford said.

But the smaller labs are just as dangerous as full-size ammonia labs found in houses or sheds. That’s because they contain combustible chemicals along with lithium metal and water, which can explode when mixed, Crawford said.

“It’s quicker, it’s all in one container, except you’re mixing non-compatible chemicals in a single container, and that results in more fire and explosions and injuries,” she said.

Indiana State Police started seeing more one-pot labs in 2010. While they aren’t common in Johnson County, they now make up about 80 percent of the labs seized across the state. They’ve been found in hotel rooms, apartments, mobile home parks, cars and shopping center restrooms, Crawford said.

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