Large amount of meth recovered in bust

Two Oak Harbor residents were arrested Wednesday in a drug bust in which police recovered an unusually large amount of methamphetamine.

Sgt. Tim Sterkel, Oak Harbor Police Department’s drug enforcement officer, said police and the Naval Criminal Criminal Investigative Service worked with an informant to uncover meth dealing in a Midway Boulevard apartment owned by Island County Housing Authority.

After the informant completed a couple of drug buys, police served a search warrant on the apartment. Sterkel said they recovered around an ounce of meth, including a half-ounce of recently-made powder.

“Usually in street level meth cases, you don’t get a lot of product,” he said. “In this case, we got a half ounce, which is a lot. It’s pure white. In other words, a good batch.”

In addition to the drugs, Sterkel said police found meth-making equipment and meth-making supplies. While he said the meth wasn’t manufactured at the apartment, he believes the equipment was moved after recently being used to make the drug.

Sterkel said the two suspects were using meth intravenously. A large number of hypodermic needles and a burned spoon were found at the scene. “These people were dealing to everybody and anybody,” he said. “That’s how they pay for their habit.”

Sterkel estimated that the baggy of snow-white meth was worth between $1,000 and $1,200.

A 40-year-old woman and a 37-year-old man were arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to deliver meth and the manufacture of meth. They are being held at the Island County jail.

You can reach News-Times reporter Jessie Stensland at jstensland@whidbeynewstimes.com or call 675-6611.

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