A Chocowinity couple has been charged with manufacturing meth, making it the second such drug bust in the past three months.

Matthew Thomas McCraw, 33, and Adina Danielle Miller, 32, both of 2180 Hodges Road, Chocowinity, were arrested Tuesday night and charged with possession of methamphetamine, manufacturing methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine precursors, maintaining a dwelling to manufacture methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office drug unit investigators were tipped off to the couple’s illegal activity.

“We were just following up complaints — we had complaints of drug use and drug sales at the house, selling prescription pills, and we ended up with (a meth lab bust),” said Capt. Russell Davenport, head of the drug unit. “They’d been on our radar. We’d been hearing their names on the street.”

Investigators arrived at the scene at about 7 p.m. Tuesday night, Davenport said, but once they realized what they had on their hands, the SBI’s Methamphetamine Response Team was called in for investigation and cleanup. Meth production produces hazardous materials that can be violently combustible. While there were no active labs on the premises, they found the remains of used one-pot meth labs.

“It’s a time consuming and dangerous cleanup,” Davenport said.

Davenport said investigators found a small amount of meth in the camper at the Hodges Road address, along with the chemicals used to make it: Coleman fuel, sulfuric acid, salt, lithium batteries and ammonium nitrate. Outside, a burn pile in the yard contained partially burned labs.

“It’s a common method for them to have burn piles in their yards to try to destroy evidence of meth labs,” Davenport explained. “In this case it didn’t burn all the way.”

Davenport said they’re starting to see more meth in Beaufort County, a result of a continuous eastward spread of the drug across the United States over the past decade. Battling the drug’s intrusion means continual training for the drug unit, he said.

“On the street, we’re aggressive — we’re catching onto the trends and items to look for. Training has advanced the drug unit to recognize these things,” Davenport said.

Both McCraw and Miller are being held at the Beaufort County Dentention Center under $100,000 secured bonds.

“We’re just happy to get another one off the street,” Davenport said. “We want to keep Beaufort County clean.”