Maine Drug Enforcement agents charged two Bucksport residents with operating a methamphetamine lab in an apartment on Noel Way in Bucksport, according to a news release from the Maine Dept. of Public Safety.

Shortly after 6:30 pm drug agents searched the apartment. When agents and local law enforcement entered the apartment they interrupted the occupants who were actively making meth, using what is commonly referred to as the One-Pot method, the release said.

With the one pot method, all of the necessary ingredients are placed into one container and a violent chemical reaction ensues to convert the precursor drug – Pseudoephedrine - to Methamphetamine.

Following that discovery, the two other apartments in the building were evacuated and additional MDEA lab team resources were called in to process the scene and gather evidence. Agents seized processed methamphetamine one pot vessels used to manufacture meth and ingredients used to make the drug. 

Agents arrested Jamie Matlack, 45, charging him with Class A Operation of a Methamphetamine Laboratory and Class C Unlawful Possession of Methamphetamine. Kimberly Matlack, 53 and Jamie’s aunt, was also arrested and charged with Class A Operation of a Methamphetamine Laboratory.

The offense is aggravated because the apartment is within 1,000 feet of the Reach School. Both were taken to the Hancock County Jail.   The Bucksport Police Department, Bucksport Fire Department, Hancock County Sheriff’s Office and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection provided assistance with the investigation, security, decontamination and removal of the hazardous materials.

This is the 42nd response by MDEA’s lab team this year. In 2017, the team responded to 58 incidents, 126 in 2016 and 56 in 2015. Due to the volatile, highly flammable and hazardous nature of the manufacturing process, lab team members are trained to OSHA standards and don specialized equipment and protective gear to address these incidents.