Fully functional meth lab inside Winnipeg apartment a significant find, police say

Police made the rare discovery of a fully equipped meth lab, filled with dangerous chemicals, inside an apartment suite in Winnipeg's Central Park neighbourhood Thursday.

"We've not found a full meth lab in a long time. This is a significant discovery and it's great that we were able to shut it down," said police spokesman Const. Rob Carver.

"We've found evidence of labs, where there was stuff left behind to indicate a lab might have been there. But this had everything, all of the equipment and a real significant quantity of chemicals.

"There was a lot of dangerous stuff in there."

Police were called to the 11-storey building at 355 Kennedy St. — which had a day nursery on the main level — around 9:45 a.m. Thursday.

"Management contacted us to say 'something's going on here,'" Carver said, noting the suite was supposed to be vacant.

A police news release said the lab did not appear to be operational when police found it. Carver, however, said "it was ready, there just wasn't anybody cooking at the time."

The police service's clandestine lab unit, as well as units from the Fire Paramedic Service, including hazmat, remained at the scene for the majority of the day as the lab was disassembled.

Chemicals used in meth labs are extremely unstable, creating the potential for explosions.

No arrests have been made because no one was there when police arrived, Carver said, adding the investigation is continuing.