Officers have uncovered the 113th meth lab in city limits so far this year. There were only 110 discovered in all of 2010.

Lt. Andy Simmons with the Muskogee City/County Aggressive Criminal Enforcement team said it’s easier to cook, easier to hide and just as easy to get key ingredients despite pseudoephedrine sale laws.

“There are lots of people who aren’t drug users who buy pseudoephedrine and sell it to the people who cook meth,” Simmons said. “And that is probably why there are even more labs.”

Two meth labs were found Wednesday.

Members of the ACE team went to a home in the 500 block on North K Street Wednesday morning after receiving an anonymous tip of suspicious drug activity.

They served a search warrant and found four “shake and bake” meth labs in the basement of the home, Simmons said. Shake and bake labs use 20-ounce plastic bottles or 2-liter pop bottles.

They are easier to hide in backpacks, duffel bags or other small spaces. But shake and bake labs still put off an acrid chemical odor like traditional meth labs, Simmons said.

Two men and a young child with a disability were in the K Street residence. Deaundre Clark, 20, and Bradley Smith, 24, were booked into the Muskogee County/City Detention Facility on complaints of endeavoring to manufacture meth, and possession of meth and paraphernalia.

The ACE team has evidence of both men purchasing pseudoephedrine in the last 10 days, Simmons said.

The child’s mother was brought from work and the Department of Human Services released him to her, Simmons said.

Late Wednesday afternoon, the ACE team was called to Little Caesar’s Pizza on South 32nd Street.

“We received a call that a maintenance person on the roof of the building saw what he thought was drug-related items,” Simmons said.

After the Muskogee Fire Department arrived to assist, several pieces of a meth lab were found.

The lab components were probably on the roof for a while, said Command Sgt. Major Michael Crawford, who collected the evidence.

A plastic bottle filled with residue, a ruptured hose, and rusted, corroded batteries were found next to a child’s baby doll and old clothing.

Simmons said the team relies a great deal on anonymous tips like those they received Wednesday in the case of both labs that were found.

People may smell the chemical odor associated with labs or, as in the case of the two men making meth in the basement, there may not be a discernible odor around the home.

However, specific trash strewn about a yard could be indicative of a meth lab, such as pop bottles filled with residue of some kind.

The color of the residue can range from white to brown. Often the bottles are crushed or collapsed.

Rubber hoses attached to a pop bottle lid are a strong indication of a meth lab as well.

Anonymous callers who are able to give officers enough details to warrant an investigation are valuable to getting rid of meth labs, Simmons said.

Anyone concerned there is a meth lab in their area can call and report anonymously to Muskogee Crime Stoppers at (918) 682-COPS.

Reach Wendy Burton at (918) 684-2926 or wburton@muskogeephoenix.com.