Authorities seized about 216 pounds of methamphetamine and dismantled a methamphetamine conversion lab at a California City home Monday following a lengthy narcotics investigation, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office said.

The Kern County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force executed a search warrant Aug. 17 at a residence in the 100 block of Camp Fire Drive, according to the sheriff’s office. Wardens from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Cannabis Enforcement Program and task force officers with the Bakersfield Police Department assisted.

Authorities said they seized about 216 pounds of methamphetamine, approximately 3 gallons of methamphetamine in solution, 2 pounds of marijuana, and one loaded firearm.

Task force lab personnel entered the property because of dangerous chemicals and other hazards associated with the conversion lab, the sheriff’s office said. Personnel dismantled the lab and notified Kern County Environmental Health.

California City Code Enforcement also responded to investigate hazards at the residence and tagged the home as unsafe for occupancy.

Juan Manuel Castro Lopez, 54, of Sinaloa, Mexico, was arrested and booked into the Kern County Sheriff’s Office Lerdo Justice Facility, according to the sheriff’s office.

Castro Lopez was booked on suspicion of manufacturing a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance for sale, maintaining a place for drug sales, and possession of a loaded firearm while possessing a controlled substance.

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