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TAYLORSVILLE — A Salt Lake-area woman accused of running a meth lab in her home has been arrested.
Heidi Lynn Peak, 23, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail early Thursday for investigation of operating a clandestine lab and four counts of drug distribution.
The investigation began when Taylorsville police received a tip that Peak "was actively distributing narcotics in the Salt Lake Valley," according to a police booking affidavit. In July, police served a search warrant on a West Valley residence looking for drugs and guns. A cellphone was seized and after the data from the phone was downloaded, detectives found numerous text messages with Peak detailing drug transactions, the affidavit states.
"I ran (her) criminal history and found that she has a previous conviction for operating a clandestine lab in Utah," the arresting officer wrote in the affidavit.
Police then kept surveillance on Peak's residence for several months and took note of the cars that stopped by and left the residence, the affidavit states. In December, a car with ties to Peak was pulled over. Inside, police found a notebook that allegedly outlined who had paid for drugs and who owed money, according to the affidavit.
"The pay/owe notes contained names, common narcotics amounts ... and dollar values, which included large quantities ranging from hundreds to tens of thousands," and made references to heroin, ecstasy, cocaine, fentanyl, prescription pain pills and meth.
The Drug Enforcement Administration was contacted to find out about Peak's purchases of pseudoephedrine, also known as Sudafed.
"Pseudoephedrine is a precursor chemical to manufacture methamphetamine in clandestine laboratories and regulated by the federal government," the affidavit states.
The DEA said Peak made 16 Sudafed purchases during a 30-day window and attempted to purchase it eight additional times but was denied because of the amounts she tried to buy, according to the affidavit, The purchases were made at pharmacies from Salt Lake City to St. George and from Wendover to Fort Collins, Colorado.
On Wednesday, a search warrant was served on Peak's vehicle and residence.
"A traffic stop was conducted and the vehicle was searched and found to contain chemicals including lye, weed killer, and matches which are precursor materials commonly used in clandestine laboratories. DEA agents secured the residence and detached garage and located glassware with residue, pseudoephedrine, acetone, antifreeze, propane, muriatic acid, toluol, and camp fuel which are all components utilized in clandestine methamphetamine labs," the affidavit states.
Home meth labs have become less common in Utah over the past 10 to 15 years due to the creation of so-called meth "super labs" in Mexico.
