Two Meth Busts At Home In Less Than A Month

It's a dangerous drug with serious and toxic consequences. Now, a Sioux Falls home has been the focal point of two major drug busts involving meth in less than one month.

Sixty-three-year-old Lester Estenson was arrested on November 8 when officers found the pills needed to make meth in his home.  He's now facing more charges after authorities found what they call a major amount of meth and cash.  

Police say he was quick to dash out his back door when officers knocked on his door with another warrant Wednesday night.  Officers chased him down and say they found meth hidden in Estenson's socks and $5,000 cash in his pocket.

"The detectives are aware of this guy. This isn't his first time. Last time wasn't his first time. He's had a history of using drugs and selling drugs so it's pretty unusual to have circumstances like this," Sioux Falls Police public information officer Sam Clemens said.

His record includes two busts at the same home, less than one month apart. Last month, investigators reported finding nearly 2,000 pseudoephedrine pills in the home.  That's the base ingredient for meth. 

This time they say they found a total of 45 grams of the drug itself. Clemens says it's a significant amount, considering a typical meth bust uncovers just a trace amount up to two grams.

"When you combine all of this stuff and they're packaged in smaller amounts, you can tell that it's set up for some type of distribution, whether they're selling it or passing it along to somebody else to sell,” Clemens said.

Clemens adds that even though Estenson is again behind bars, this investigation isn't over.  He says with last month's pills and Wednesday night's drug discovery, it's likely the house is just one part of a drug system.

"One of the things the detectives always work on is to move up that chain, if you will," Clemens said.

Officers seized nearly $8,500 in cash, as well.  They believe all of that money is related to the sale of drugs.