A 22-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly producing crystal meth in the basement of a market in Kentville, N.S.
The Kentville Police Service says around 8:30 p.m. Friday, officers received a complaint from the owner of the North End Market on Mee Road about an odour in the basement of his building.
“We determined the odour was coming from the apartment units in the basement upon further inspection officers noted indicators of the production of crystal meth,” said Sgt. Trevor MacNeil of Kentville Police Services.
The building was immediately evacuated by officers due to “the toxic nature of the chemicals.”
Heather Kroezen and her husband own the market and busy convenience store.
“We have a boarding home. We try to help guys and sometimes they fall off the path unfortunately the police had to get involved,” said Kroezen.
Kroezen says during the cleanup after the incident, a window was left open and froze the pipes. An attempt to thaw them caused more problems.
“The smoke rose so fast. I said, ‘There's a fire. There's a fire,” said Kroezen. “The way the smoke was going I thought her whole floor was gone.”
Remarkably, the market was open for business on Sunday. Police say their story could have ended much differently.
“Lives could've been lost,” said Sgt. MacNeil. “The chemicals (are) highly flammable. There was potential for an explosion.”
The suspect has been charged with unlawfully producing methamphetamine.
He remains in custody and will appear in court on Monday.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Marie Adsett.
