A Walmart employee in Muncie, Indiana, walked into the store’s restroom to a shocking find: a functional and potentially explosive meth lab. The restroom has been closed until professional cleaners can remove the deadly chemicals.
According to the Chicago Tribune , the employee says he saw a suspicious character enter the restroom at 11:30 p.m. Thursday night with a backpack. He left shortly afterwards without the backpack. The employee contacted the police after learning a mini-meth lab was inside the backpack and polluting the bathroom.
A meth suppression team came and took the dangerous chemicals away.
You might think it was a particularly forgetful Walter White wannabe, but the police explained that the meth maker left it behind on purpose.
People have been leaving “the deadly explosive chemicals in public places to return later to get the finished product.” That way, they can avoid potential explosions or contamination in their homes.
Fox59 reports that no one from the Walmart reported feeling sick. Police say the ventilation system sent the fumes outside, instead of circulating around the store. Nevertheless, the bathrooms have to remain closed.
Muncie resident Dave Stover said to Fox59 , “I hope no children were in there. I mean really, I’ve got two young ones myself.”
Muncie, Indiana, is the seat of Delaware County, which has a meth problem, even outside the local Walmart. State police claim that there were 148 meth lab busts in the county last year. The majority were “shake and bake” or “one pot” mini-labs like the one found in the Walmart restroom.
Police were lucky to get to the lab when they did. Corrosive acid had already eaten through the bottom of the backpack and was leaking onto the bathroom floor. Still, if Walmart employees were more aggressive, they might have caught the man even earlier.
A Walmart official explained that an alert worker saw the man with the backpack when he entered the store. The worker explained that he had been spotted several times, buying things that could be used to manufacture meth. Turns out, Walmart served as a one-stop shop for the drug dealer, and other meth manufacturers have also seen the appeal of the big-box store.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr , a couple decided to use a Walmart parking lot as their semi-permanent location for their mobile lab. It seemed natural since the store allows free overnight parking in their lots. Unfortunately for the drug-dealers, the couple made a subtle mistake: shoplifting the materials for the mini-lab. When police arrived to arrest two shoplifters, they ended up taking away some amateurish meth dealers.
Police are still looking for the suspect in the case of the Walmart restroom meth lab, If they’re lucky, he’ll return soon for his finished product.
[Image Credit: Getty Images]