Lawndale house raid
turns into drug bust

Some residents of the Northeast’s Lawndale section didn’t need a bloodhound to sniff out some crime last weekend.
Now Philadelphia police are searching for the people responsible for setting up a cocaine-packaging facility inside a local residence.
Neighbors on the 6300 block of Lawndale Ave. smelled a strong odor emanating from a house on Saturday. So they called 911, according to Sgt. Joseph Bologna, of the Narcotics Field Unit.
Local firefighters and police who responded to the scene got a whiff and decided to enter the place by force, suspecting to find a crystal methamphetamines lab. They also evacuated nearby homes, fearing a possible explosion, since meth labs are highly volatile.
Instead, authorities allegedly stumbled upon a huge pile of cocaine and the equipment used to mold it into one-kilogram bricks for wholesale distribution. They believe that the chemical acetone was giving off the smell. It also is flammable and used to process cocaine.
Narcotics officers counted 17 kilos — or 34.5 pounds of the drug — valued at about $1.5 million on the street, according to Bologna. Investigators also seized 64 grams of heroin, kilo molds and kilo presses.
The house was unoccupied at the time. There were no arrests. The investigation is continuing. ••