NORTH READING, MASS. (WHDH) - Arrest warrants have been issued for two North Reading residents after police and fire officials uncovered an apparent drug manufacturing operation last week while responding to house fire in the town.
Lowell Navarro, 28, and Jacob Stanish, 31, are wanted on charges of unlawful manufacturing of MDMA and conspiracy to violate drug laws.
Emergency responders were called to 6 Travelled Way on Feb. 7, and found a home engulfed in flames, police said.
According to police, officers noted a strange odor coming from the house and plumes of thick black smoke. A drug response team was called to the scene.
Police said investigators discovered a hidden, unfinished room with a venting system and a glass laboratory. They also found chemicals and other evidence pointing to a drug manufacturing operation used to create MDMA, which is commonly known as ecstasy.
“This was an extremely dangerous situation, in which a drug lab was operating in a residential neighborhood with houses stacked closely to one another,” Chief Michael Murphy said. “We are very fortunate that no one was injured or killed.”
The incident is under investigation.
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