Investigators dismantled meth lab found at a DeKalb County hotel Saturday night.
Channel 2 Action News was at the scene as the Georgia Bureau of Investigations began their investigation. Our crews watched them, armed with search warrant, go inside and investigate the meth lab.
The owner of the Lodge on Buford Hotel only meant to evict a tenant who hadn't paid his bill, but he found himself calling Chamblee police.
"When the officer got here, the tenant had actually left. He went inside with the owner of facility and found all the components of a methamphetamine laboratory," said GBI agent W. Joseph Chesnut.
Soon after, the GBI arrived.
"We secured a search warrant, the DeKalb County fire department went in with their hazardous material crew, they took air quality readings to ensure the air quality was safe for the people on that floor," Chesnut said.
Chesnut said it was the second meth lab they've been called to in the past week and a half in metro Atlanta.
"Nobody has asked me if I wanted drugs. So I'm a little surprised to hear that, but I guess you're going to get that at all these kind of places," said hotel guest Chris Mercer.
Mercer, who moved to the hotel with his family a few months ago, said the sudden arrival of police and firefighters was unexpected.
Channel 2 tried to contact Lodge's general manager, Bill Carr, but he wasn't available. But we were told that the GM, who has managed at the hotel for 30 years, referred all questions to authorities.
"As long as you keep to yourself around these places, nobody tends to bother you too much," Mercer said.
The GBI said meth labs are volatile and can be very dangerous.
Investigators are still looking for the man who leased the apartment and ran before police arrived.
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