CASTAIC : Chemicals Used to Make PCP Seized

About 20 barrels seized from a minivan during a routine traffic stop contained enough chemicals to manufacture $900,000 worth of PCP, a California Highway Patrol officer said Thursday.

The van was on its way to Los Angeles from Northern California when it was pulled over Wednesday, just south of Templin Highway, Officer Steve Munday said. The chemicals could have been used to manufacture 180 pounds of the powerful drug, which would have been enough to make millions of dollars worth of PCP-dipped cigarettes, Munday said.

Munday said the chemical seizure was unusual because the haul included “if not all . . . nearly all the chemicals needed to manufacture” the drug. Two 38-year-old Los Angeles men were taken into custody Wednesday, but their names were not released pending the completion of a federal investigation, Munday said.