Active meth lab found, Lugoff couple arrested

Kershaw County drug investigators raided a home on Riverside Drive in Lugoff Thursday night and arrested the man and woman living there.

David M. Gibson, 37, and Shannon Raye Smith face drug charges, Sheriff Jim Matthews said in a news release.

The residence at 65 Riverside Drive had been under surveillance after authorities were tipped to possible methamphetamine production taking place there, Matthews said.

Deputies said they saw equipment associated with meth production on the front steps and smelled an odor also associated with meth production coming from the residence when they arrived on scene Thursday.

Smith allegedly tried to block access to the inside of the residence by deputies after answering a knock on the front door. At the same time, Gibson allegedly tried to jump out a window.

Deputies found an “active, cooking, one pot meth lab as well as all the chemicals, precursors and equipment needed to make methamphetamine’ during a search of the residence, Matthews said.

A toxic chemicals cleanup company from Columbia was called in to dispose of contaminated materials and chemicals, Matthews said.

Smith and Gibson were being held at the Kershaw County Detention Center Friday afternoon.

This story was originally published April 1, 2016 at 4:50 PM with the headline "Active meth lab found, Lugoff couple arrested."