FILLMORE : Drug Lab Found in Avocado Orchard

Sheriff’s deputies arrested a Ventura man and were looking for three other people Monday after finding a sophisticated methamphetamine lab hidden inside a Fillmore avocado orchard.

Deputies arrested Guadalupe Mendez Maldonado, 24, Sunday afternoon at his home shortly after finding the lab deep inside an orchard in the 1700 block of Telegraph Road.

Maldonado posted $5,000 bail and was released from Ventura County Jail Monday, a jail spokesman said.

Deputies believe that three other people seen fleeing the avocado grove shortly before authorities arrived are also involved with the methamphetamine lab. No further arrests had been made as of late Monday, deputies said.

Contained in a canvas shed constructed in the grove, the lab had electricity supplied to it by a generator dug into the ground, authorities said. Inside the shed were four large glass flasks containing chemicals and heating elements to warm them, authorities said.

The lab was capable of producing up to 40 pounds of the stimulant drug, with a street value of $400,000, officials said. Officials with the state Department of Justice confiscated the equipment and dismantled the shed after investigating the scene, authorities said.

A person picking avocados uncovered the clandestine lab and reported it to authorities, deputies said.