Deputies bust honey oil lab, arrest 2 in Hacienda Heights

HACIENDA HEIGHTS, Calif. (KABC) -- Two suspects were arrested on suspicion of manufacturing honey oil Wednesday at a residence in the 16800 block of Twin Hill Drive in Hacienda Heights.

Manufacturing honey oil involves using explosive gasses to cheaply extract highly concentrated THC from marijuana.

"The solvents they're using, butane and also Ethyl alcohol, that is extremely flammable. The butane will explode with even static electricity," said Sheriff's Detective Scott Schulze of the Los Angeles Interagency Metropolitan Police Apprehension Crime Task Force.

Schulze says drugs labs as such can ignite, leading to serious burns and deaths. Investigators say they found 25 pounds of marijuana and more than 100 containers of butane at the residence.

"It's a huge problem. We're getting marijuana extraction labs on a regular basis and probably about half of the ones we respond to are ones that have already exploded," Schulze said.

Fortunately, the sheriff's department found this lab before an explosion occurred, but neighbors are shocked that they were unknowingly put at risk.

"You think your neighborhood is safe and all of a sudden somebody's making bombs back here," said neighbor Dick Roybal.