RICHFIELD - Summit County has a new weapon in its escalating battle against methamphetamine labs and their operators.

Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro and Summit County Sheriff Drew Alexander unveiled what they termed "clandestine lab response vehicles" -- four Ford F-150 pickup trucks equipped with items like digital cameras, breathing apparatus, air-monitoring devices and protective vests -- in a Wednesday afternoon press conference at the Northeast Forensic Laboratory and Training Center.

The vehicles will support drug unit agents as they bust meth makers and dismantle their labs -- an always dangerous operation, said Capt. Hylton Baker of the Summit County Drug Unit.

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