OWLS HEAD — A house and a portion of South Shore Drive remain cordoned off Friday in Owls Head while agents with the state Drug Enforcement Agency investigate a suspected meth lab operation.

At around 10:30 a.m., MDEA agents showed up at the South Shore Drive residence, near Owls Head General Store, to execute a search warrant. They were joined by deputies with the Knox County Sheriff’s Office and a state Department of Environmental Protection oil and hazardous materials response team. Owls Head Fire Department and an ambulance from Rockland Fire Department have also remained at the scene as a precaution.

According to Steve Pelletier, commander of the southern division of the MDEA, four people were detained in the suspected operation involving manufacturing and/or trafficking in methamphetamine. At the scene Friday he said the four are off-site being questioned.

"We are currently detaining four people who were at the house and agents are interviewing them as we speak. Everybody in the house has been extremely compliant, there were no issues what-so-ever and everyone has been cooperative at this point," said Pelletier

The four were subsequently identified and charged. They are Heather Gregory, 40, of Owls Head, charged with class B trafficking/manufacturing methamphetamine; Travis Batty, 29, of Owls Head, charged with class B trafficking/manufacturing methamphetamine; Anthony Torre, 22, of Owls Head, charged with class B trafficking/manufacturing methamphetamine; and Damien Welch, 22, of Owls Head, charged with class A trafficking/manufacturing methamphetamine.

MDEA Senior Special Agent James Pease said that Welch was charged class A trafficking because he is currently on  probation out of California for the same crime.

All four are being held at Knox County Jail. Bail for Gregory, Batty and Torre has been set at $10,000 cash. Bail has been set at $125,000 cash for Welch due to his prior criminal history and limited ties to the community, according to the MDEA in a press release Friday afternoon.

Pelletier said the homeowner was not there when agents arrived this morning, and he would not say whether that individual is also under suspicion of being involved in any way. One of the detained suspects is related to the homeowner, according to Pelletier.

The raid of the house with a search warrant is the result of an investigation by agents with the MDEA Midcoast Division into the manufacture of methamphetamine in the Owls Head area. The MDEA Midcoast Division is headquarted in Thomaston.

“Today we're executing a search warrant and found evidence of an active lab, what we call a one-pot lab. Our specialty team is entering the house right now to determine how many chemicals are in there, as well as any finished product being methamphetamine," said Pelletier earlier today.

The media and the public are being kept back from the house due to the highly flammable and toxic nature of the chemicals often used to manufacture methamphetamine, and their byproducts.

"On the outside of the building you see red tape all the way around. We consider that the hot zone. The hot zone extends farther down into the woods. The by-products of methamphetamine are extremely flammable and toxic. And it appears these individuals who have been doing the manufacturing have been dumping the by-products off into the woods [so] we have the Department of Environmental Protection with us as well, and as we go through it we'll determine how much we have and how dangerous it is to the environment.

"One of the byproducts that was used here was lithium, as well as Draino. and I'm not a chemist, but when you use lithium and it's exposed to water it's extremely flammable. When you add Draino or Coleman fuel or some other type of petroleum product it's extremely toxic to inhale, not to mention how explosive it can be," said Pelletier.

"We definitely know they have been manufacturing. There's enough evidence on the outside that I would expect charges to be brought today at some point. The scope of it we won't be able to determine until we get inside. There have been multiple cooks at this residence, as evidenced by the by-products that have been left out in the yard," said Pelletier.

In addition to saying that all four of the suspects were cooperative when confronted at the home, Pelletier added that there were no weapons involved and that the arrival of law enforcement did not provoke any violence.

A worker at a house nearby, who wished to remain anonymous, said two police cars showed up at the residence late Friday morning followed by the MDEA and the DEP’s hazardous spills truck. Fire engines and an ambulance followed and everybody started putting on orange suits.

The MDEA Midcoast District Task Force serves the communities of Knox, Waldo, Lincoln and Sagadahoc counties.

Editorial Director Holly S. Edwards can be reached at hollyedwards@penbaypilot.com or 706-6655.