Pair accused of manufacturing meth

SANDPOINT — Two men accused of operating a methamphetamine lab were arrested Thursday on drug charges.

Allen Krebs, 64, a convicted felon, and Louis Gillette, 52, each face charges of possession of methamphetamine and manufacturing methamphetamine. The men are in the Bonner County Jail. Bond is set at $100,000 each.

Deputies and officers from the county’s drug interdiction team who served a warrant at Krebs’ home at 4433 Colburn Culver Road Thursday afternoon found a meth lab and jugs filled with liquid in the early stages of production, Sgt. Marty Ryan said.

“We acquired a past meth lab dump they had conducted,” Ryan said.

Officers followed up and collected a small quantity of crank in addition to the liquids.

“There were numerous jars with multi-layered fluid,” he said.

The liquid is part of the process called salting out, he said.

“Meth is taken out in the last step,” he said. “It brings it to a solid.”

The arrests come in the wake of three-month investigation by the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office, according to the department.

Deputies were tipped off to the operation while investigating another case.

“Once they start falling on our radar we start watching them more closely,” Ryan said.

The department’s hazardous materials unit removed the lab from a trailer on the premises and cleaned up the area. Because of its rural location, the sergeant said, there is no threat of contamination to nearby residents.

“It’s a huge concern,” he said. “In this particular incident, because of the large acreage, there was no spillage or hazardous threat.”

His department hasn’t had criminal dealings with Krebs, who has a history of minor violations, since a 1994 drug conviction.

Gillette, who has a Newport, Wash. address, served 30 days in jail after being found guilty of unlawful entry four years ago.

The men’s next court appearance will be scheduled within two weeks.