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Lake County near top of list for meth lab busts

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — Officials arrested two suspected dealers in Leesburg, but could not find out where they were getting the drugs, WFTV found out Tuesday.

However, a methamphetamine lab was found miles away, but no one was cooking the meth.

In Lake County Monday, 48-year-old Thomas Rutig was arrested on charges of dealing in crystal meth, police said.

Leesburg police said they thought they were cooking the drug at the motel, but police were wrong.

Miles away, members of the sheriff's office found a meth lab in a vacant home.

"Totally shocked. I mean we've been here for over 20 years and this place has been vacant, technically," said a neighbor who did not want to be identified.

Law enforcement said that this year alone, nearly 50 meth labs have been busted in Lake County.

On a new list out by the Drug Enforcement Agency, Lake County is near the top of the list for Florida counties with clandestine labs that still need to be cleaned up.

The Drug Enforcement Agency tracks meth labs county by county.