From the Knox County/Laurel County Sheriff's Departments -
On Wednesday, October 23, 2024, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office conducted a burglary investigation in the Girdler community of Knox County, leading to a search warrant in Laurel County. Knox County deputies identified a residence in Laurel County where stolen firearms from the burglary were located.
Knox Sheriff’s Office and Laurel Sheriff’s Office investigators executed a search warrant at the residence of Doug Simons and his father, Robert Simons on Old Way Rd. in London. The search led to the seizure of 2 of the firearms stolen in Knox County and the discovery of methamphetamine, morphine tablets, a methamphetamine lab, and a DMT lab. 48-year-old Robert Wayne Simons of London, KY was arrested and charged with Trafficking in Controlled Substance-1st Degree and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. An arrest warrant has been issued for Doug Simons who has not been located at this time.
Knox County Sheriff Mike Smith and Laurel County Sheriff John Root believe that this is the first DMT lab seized in either county. DMT (N, N-Dimethyltrypatime) is a Schedule I hallucinogen that can be clandestinely produced.
Members of the Laurel County Drug Interdiction Task Force assisted in securing the lab when it was discovered. ECO-techs responded to the scene where they assisted in securing and packaging both the methamphetamine lab and DMT.
Drug Enforcement Administration Chemists from DEA Mid-Atlantic Lab in Maryland also responded to the storage location in London where samples were taken and the lab was properly disposed of. Federal prosecution is anticipated pending final lab analysis. There were several large containers of suspected DMT in liquid and crystal form seized during the search. Under federal guidelines, the minimum sentence is 15 years for offenders possessing at least 14 grams of DMT
Sheriff Smith and Sheriff Root would like to alert citizens of Knox and Laurel Counties about the possible presence of DMT. DMT is a strong psychedelic drug and is known to produce short-acting and intense visual hallucinations. It is similar to LSD, Mescaline, and Psilocybin (Magic Mushrooms). DMT can be smoked, snorted, ingested, or injected. When produced synthetically DMT is a white crystalline powder.