5 Arrested After Meth Lab Bust At Howard County Holiday Inn Express

ELKRIDGE, Md. (WJZ)—Guests are evacuated at a hotel and hazmat crews rush to the scene after police find ingredients for a dangerous drug. It all went down Monday night in Elkridge.

Adam May has details on an unusual meth lab bust.

This is the state's first meth lab bust in a year. Five people are in custody.

Guests staying on the fourth floor of a Holiday Inn Express in Elkridge got an unexpected wake-up call.

"Firefighters came down the hallway and they were pounding on the doors," said Dan Bay.

Bay from California soon found out police were busting a meth lab.

The drug is usually made by mixing over-the-counter cold medicine with chemicals. In some cases, the combination can be explosive.

"The room that this was happening was just down the hall from me. They arrested these three guys. They had them cuffed, laying on the floor," Bay said.

Police arrested two more outside the hotel.

"We arrested five in total, and they face charges of manufacturing, possession and possession with the intent to distribute," said Sherry Llewellyn, Howard County Police Department spokeswoman.

Last year, more than 10,000 meth labs were busted in the United States, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency.

Maryland was one of six states without a single incident. Most cases are in the lower Midwest. Police say that's where the suspects are originally from.

"They were manufacturing the meth because they were unable to find it in Howard County," Llewellyn said. "It's our understanding they intended to use the drugs among the five of them."

Guests at the hotel were allowed back in their rooms about four hours later.

The suspects are between 20 and 34 years old. They're all in custody.

Only 10 meth labs have been busted in Maryland since 2004.