ABSTRACT
To the uninitiated, the seizure of a clandestine lab may seem to be the culmination of the investigation. The long hours of surveillance, witness interviews, informant debriefings, information confirmation, and search warrant preparation lead to the excitement of the actual seizure. Yet, what seems to be the end of a process is, in reality, only the beginning. In some aspects, finding the clandestine lab is the easiest part of the investigation. Making sense out of what is found is far more difficult. The hazards indigenous to a clandestine lab crime scene make it impractical for even the bestprepared investigator to waltz through the scene, take a few photographs, throw the relevant evidence into a paper bag, and go back to the office.
