Gallipolis , Gallia County , Ohio

Law enforcement in Gallia County, Ohio, has seen an increase in meth-making material being discarded along roadways and public areas.

The Gallia County Sheriff's Department responded to a location where a bag of meth-making material was discarded along McCully Road in the Addison township Thursday. The department has a vehicle that is equipped with the tools needed to dispose of the hazardous material.

Over the weekend, the Gallipolis Police Department saw an increase of the meth dump sites. The department had to properly dismantle three separate labs with the assistance from specially trained responders from the Gallia County Sheriff's Department.

Police are asking the public to become familiar with the following items and report any suspicious activity:

* Bottles or jars with rubber tubing attached.
* Propane tanks with fittings that have turned blue or green.
* Strong smell of urine or unusual chemical smells such as ether, ammonia or acetone.
* An unusual amount of cold tablet containers that list ephedrine or pseudoephedrine as ingredients.
* Jars or bottles containing clear liquid with a white or red colored solid on the bottom.
* Jars or bottles containing iodine or dark, shiny metallic purple crystals inside of jars.
* Jars or bottles containing red phosphorus or a fine dark red or purple powder.
* Coffee filters containing a white pasty substance, a dark red sludge, or small amounts of shiny white crystals.
* Bottles containing sulfuric, muriatic or hydrochloric acid.
* Glass cookware or frying pans containing a powdery residue.
* A large number of cans of camp fuel, paint thinner, acetone, starter fluid, lye, and drain cleaners containing sulfuric acid or bottles containing muriatic acid.
* Large amounts of lithium batteries, especially ones that have been stripped.
* Soft silver or gray metallic ribbon (in chunk form) stored in oil or kerosene.

All or some of the items may be present in a bag or possibly laying where someone has dumped them, police said. If you see a suspected meth lab dump site, police advise that you should leave immediately and contact 911.

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The Gallipolis Police Department is warning the public after several mobile meth labs were discovered at different locations in the city.

On Jan. 5, the police department received a report that two plastic grocery bags containing "one-pot" labs were dumped on Mill Creek Road, according to a news release from the Gallipolis Police Department.

The following day on Jan. 6, a backpack was found in a field near Upper River Road that had meth lab components, the release said. Later that day, police discovered another backpack in a dumpster behind a business on Eastern Avenue with materials for several "one-pot" meth labs.

Police said that each time the labs were discovered, members from the Middleport Police Department and the Gallia County Sheriff's Office had to be dispatched to properly dispose of the labs.

Police are asking the public to become familiar with the following items and report any suspicious activity:

* Bottles or jars with rubber tubing attached.
* Propane tanks with fittings that have turned blue or green.
* Strong smell of urine or unusual chemical smells such as ether, ammonia or acetone.
* An unusual amount of cold tablet containers that list ephedrine or pseudoephedrine as ingredients.
* Jars or bottles containing clear liquid with a white or red colored solid on the bottom.
* Jars or bottles containing iodine or dark, shiny metallic purple crystals inside of jars.
* Jars or bottles containing red phosphorus or a fine dark red or purple powder.
* Coffee filters containing a white pasty substance, a dark red sludge, or small amounts of shiny white crystals.
* Bottles containing sulfuric, muriatic or hydrochloric acid.
* Glass cookware or frying pans containing a powdery residue.
* A large number of cans of camp fuel, paint thinner, acetone, starter fluid, lye, and drain cleaners containing sulfuric acid or bottles containing muriatic acid.
* Large amounts of lithium batteries, especially ones that have been stripped.
* Soft silver or gray metallic ribbon (in chunk form) stored in oil or kerosene.

All or some of the items may be present in a bag or possibly laying where someone has dumped them, police said. If you see a suspected meth lab dump site, police advise that you should leave immediately and contact 911.

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