Five Mexican men have been charged with drug offences after police found a methamphetamine laboratory on remote farmland near Furnace End in Warwickshire. The suspects, all in their forties, were allegedly part of a crime group operating the secret drug production facility.
The defendants, identified as Alejandro Ambriz Dimas, 45, from Michoacan, and Victora Ramirez, 47, Fausto Beltran, 33, Lioncio Moso Borja, 37, and Jose Nunez Angolo, 44, all from Culiacan in the Sinaloa region, were arrested on August 13. They appeared at Coventry Magistrates' Court and have been remanded in custody ahead of a hearing at Warwickshire Crown Court.
They are all accused of conspiracy to produce methamphetamine, a Class A drug. The investigation was conducted by the National Crime Agency, with assistance from Warwickshire Police, West Midlands Fire Service, and West Midlands Ambulance Service.
A police-released photograph shows a basement containing gas canisters, large plastic tubs, and containers connected to metal tubing, indicative of a drug manufacturing operation. Methamphetamine, also known as crystal meth, is a highly addictive substance that can cause severe psychosis, heart attack, or stroke.