Man Mistakes Water Treatment Plant For Meth Lab

In a rather unique situation, a New Zealand man mistook a rural water treatment plant for a methamphetamine production laboratory. He “detained two workers” for three hours while he searched around the facility for meth.

According to stuff.co.nz, Michael James Roy Turner, 29, was sentenced to home detention. Turner appeared in Hamilton District Court late last month, charged with two counts of kidnapping, one charge of burglary, and two counts each of assaulting police and resisting police.

Turner broke into the Waitomo District Council-owned plant in Benneydale believing that it was a “sophisticated methamphetamine operation.”

When breaking into the facility, Turner activated an alarm and two workers from the infrastructure management company Veolia​ Water went to investigate.

Upon entering the facility, both workers were confronted by Turner, who was armed with a large hunting knife in a sheath attached to his belt, stuff.co.nz reported. Although he did not use the knife in a threatening manner, he was acting in an “erratic and irrational manner,” demanding that the workers prepare meth for him.

To avoid upsetting Turner, both workers stayed where they were. According to police, at one point Turner began licking some of the glassware in the facility and snorted chlorine from a sealed sack.

According to stuff.co.nz, after being detained for three hours, the two workers escaped and were able to contact police. Turner escaped to an area behind the plant, but was soon tracked down by two constables and a police dog.

Turner struggled violently as the two officers attempted to arrest him and even got a hold of one of the officer’s batons, which he used against both officers before eventually being restrained.

To read more about treatment facility security visit Water Online’s Resiliency Solutions Center.