A community tip brought Pearl River County Sheriff’s Deputies to the home of a suspected methamphetamine cook.

The tip came into the Sheriff’s Department on August 5, and alleged that 45-year-old Gary Lynn Varnado was in the process of cooking methamphetamine at his home located at 133 Luther Davis Rd., said Chief Investigator Donnie Saucier.

Patrol deputies went to Varnado’s home to check on the tip, and when they got there the deputies could detect an odor that is common with the production of the drug, Saucier said. Deputies made contact with Varnado at his home and during that discussion narcotics investigators were able to secure a search warrant for the home based off the deputies’ observations, Saucier said.

During the search investigators discovered an active methamphetamine lab and a hidden compartment in the floor containing a number of precursor chemicals, Saucier said. The discovery of the lab prompted the department to call the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics who in turn contacted the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality to come clean up and dispose of the hazardous chemicals, Saucier said.

Varnado was charged with manufacture of a controlled substance, Saucier said.