OCSD Find Stolen RV At Lake Forest Home, Chemicals Found Inside

LAKE FOREST, CA —Orange County Sheriff's Department deputies serving a stolen property warrant in Lake Forest found what believed to be a highly toxic meth lab.

Arriving deputies searching for a stolen trailer discovered another operation underway using various chemicals.

At first, they believed the scene to be a methamphetamine lab. Upon closer examination, the operation had nothing to do with drugs, Sgt. Dennis Breckner told Patch.

As they served the warrant inside the home, officers discovered an operation that used acid to harvest gold plating and precious metals from circuit boards of electronics, Breckner explained.

"They were using chemicals to extract those metals from electronics, which is not illegal," he says.

The OCSD HAZMAT team responded to the scene, where they determined the operation to be non-drug related.

The discovery was made about 11 p.m. Sunday at 24000 block of Sunset Lane, he said.

Deputies considered evacuating surrounding residences as a precaution. However, once the HazMat team determined no methamphetamine was at the scene, no evacuations were needed.

The missing trailer was recovered, Breckner says, and no arrests were made. An investigation remains underway.

Update: Headline changed to reflect the nature of the incident after OCSD submitted full report..