Man Held on Suspicion of Operating Meth Lab
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A 47-year-old man was arrested Thursday for allegedly making methamphetamine at a motel in San Clemente.
Dwight Wagle was taken into custody about 2:20 a.m. at the Country Inn at 35 Calle de Industrias, said Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Hector Rivera.
“Wagle . . . arrived at the hotel at 11 [last night] and checked into a room,” Rivera said. “Shortly thereafter, he created a lab in the room and began producing or cooking methamphetamine.”
The Sheriff’s Department was tipped off, and deputies were sent to investigate. They said Wagle had made about a pound of methamphetamine, worth roughly $20,000 on the street, and was cooking a similar-sized batch.
The Orange County Fire Authority was summoned, and the Orange County Lab Enforcement team and hazardous-materials workers dismantled the lab, Rivera said.
Wagle was arrested on suspicion of a number of health and safety code violations related to illegal drug activity.
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