Large scale Fentanyl lab busted off Bluebonnet

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BATON ROUGE — Multiple agencies were on the scene at a home in Baton Rouge Thursday afternoon. Inside, agents say they found a “large-scale chemical laboratory” with enough ingredients to create around 100 pounds of fentanyl, arrest documents say.

East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s deputies, DEA agents, and even the District Attorney himself were out on Nov. 12, at a home near East Cottage Hill and Cottage Hill. The neighborhood is close to Bluebonnet and Oliphant.

The investigation into an accused drug dealer began in October, when Greater New Orleans area officials advised EBRSO Narcotics detectives that Torrey C. Lewis Jr. was allegedly a large-scale fentanyl producer.

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On Thursday, Nov. 12, EBRSO Narcotics agents saw Lewis exit from the passenger side of a vehicle at the Cottage Hill address. He entered the home through a back gate before agents saw another vehicle arrive at the home. Lewis then exited the closing attached garage and got into the passenger side of the vehicle, and the vehicle left the home, officials reported.

EBRSO Narcotics agents made a traffic stop on that vehicle, and Lewis was inside, documents show.

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Once Lewis was detained, EBRSO & DEA agents did a “knock and announce” search at the Cottage Hill home. No one was inside, so agents conducted a recorded walk-through of the home, where they say they discovered a large-scale chemical processing laboratory with 58 liters of an unknown liquid; multiple gallon containers with dichloromethane (methylene chloride); multiple gallon drums of ethanol; and large glass beakers, according to arresting documents.

Investigators noted that the laboratory setup, along with other items found nearby, are often used for large-scale fentanyl production. The DEA dispatched lab technicians and other experts to the scene to document and process the items that were located and stayed working at the home into the night late on Thursday. According to the arresting documents, “through calculation of the liquid contained in the lab of approximately 58 liters would equate to approximately 100 pounds of suspected fentanyl.”

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