‘Speed Kitchen’ Raided; 3 Arrested

Narcotics officers raided a “speed kitchen” in an orchard along Balcom Canyon Road on Wednesday, arresting three Mexican nationals and confiscating enough chemicals to make 400 pounds of methamphetamine.

Deputies served a search warrant about 10:30 a.m. at a shed in an avocado and citrus orchard near Bixby and Balcom Canyon roads, said Capt. Dennis Carpenter, who heads the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department narcotics team.

Although officials did not give an estimated street value for the drugs, a pound of methamphetamine was recently estimated at $10,000. The drug is also known as “crank” or “speed.”

Deputies learned of the lab from sheriff’s deputies in San Bernardino County who are investigating a large drug ring there, Carpenter said.

“We were told that they were cooking up batches of the stuff every 10 to 15 days and shipping it down to San Bernardino,” he said.

With the help of officers from the State Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement, about 16 deputies raided the lab in a shed about a mile from the road, Carpenter said.

Using police dogs from the Santa Paula police and county sheriff’s departments, deputies found chemicals stashed under beds, logs and stumps inside and outside the structure, he said.

“It’s a pretty significant amount,” Carpenter said. “The largest we’ve seen in a long time.”

Officers are still looking into whether the lab was also distributing drugs in Ventura County. Police did not release the names of the three men arrested during Wednesday’s raid.

Last year, Sheriff’s Department officials said Ventura County’s vast open spaces and a growing demand for illegal drugs helped fuel a huge jump in the production of the drug.