Why meth bust in Manitowoc Co. could affect every village resident

Why Manitowoc Co. meth bust could affect every single resident in village

MANITOWOC (WITI) -- "Breaking Bad" BUSTED in Manitowoc County! The Manitowoc County Metro Drug Unit says it has busted a couple of meth manufacturing operations. One man is behind bars, and a second is still on the run -- and this bust is bigger than just drugs.

A 33-year-old Nazianz man and a 29-year-old Kiel area man are accused of making meth after buying pseudoephedrine products from area pharmacies.

"We have a tendency to use pharmacy logs. What's common is the purchase of pseudoephedrine products, which is one of the main ingredients in meth production," Lt. Dave Remiker with the Manitowoc County Metro Drug Unit said.

Lt. Remiker says a tip led investigators to the 33-year-old and 29-year-old.

"They had a pretty extensive habit with prescription drugs and meth," Lt. Remiker said.

The extensive habit could be creating a problem for the Village of St. Nazianz. Cooking meth creates waste by-products.

Lt. Remiker says the St. Nazianz operation could yield up to two gallons of waste per batch -- made up of chemicals like camping fuel, red phosphorus and acetone.

"He talked about between 5 to 10 batches of meth that he produced, and his way of disposal was through the toilet," Lt. Remiker said.

Village officials say the village has failed a DNR-required wastewater test since February. That test costs $1,300. Another test is scheduled for Monday, April 28th.

The Village of St. Nazianz's utilities manager says the correlation between the alleged dumping of byproducts and the failed tests is speculation.

"It was interesting to know that the timing of the information that we were getting, the information of the location of where we thought this was taking place and then the consistent issues with some of the utilities in the village, just kind of led us to that area," Lt. Remiker said.

Lt. Remiker says everyone in the community pays the price for illegal drugs. The only way to fight it is through education.

In this case, police say bomb-making materials and ammo were found in one of the suspect's homes -- and say more arrests are expected.