Laguna Niguel Man Arrested During Mobile Drug Lab Bust: Cops

LAGUNA NIGUEL, CA —What started as a routine traffic stop led to the arrest of two men driving a box truck filled with a mobile drug lab, California Highway Patrol Officers reported, Monday.

A 26-year-old Laguna Niguel resident was a passenger inside the vehicle, but insisted he had "no idea" what was in the back of the vehicle, they said. He was later arrested, along with the 24-year-old Antioch man who was driving, officers reported. Their identities were not yet released as of this report.

Roads were closed until 11 a.m. as hazardous materials experts worked the scene, rendering it safe.

In the early morning hours, CHP officers pulled over the truck on Brookhurst Road near Roberta Avenue. They saw a liquid substance leaking from the back of the vehicle, "and it had a chemical smell to it," said CHP Officer Paul Fox.

Officers initially thought the truck was being used for a methamphetamine lab, but investigators determined it was carrying concentrated cannabis, Fox said.

"They had to dam it from going into the storm drains," Fox said of the leaking chemicals.

The license plates on the truck were from another vehicle, and investigators were working to determine if the truck was also stolen, Fox said.

Orangethorpe Elementary School at 1400 S. Brookhurst Road had to be closed until 10 a.m. as authorities removed the honey oil lab materials and chemicals, Fullerton police Sgt. Carin Wright said.

All lanes of Brookhurst were closed from the Riverside (91) Freeway to Orangethorpe Avenue, Wright said.

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