LUFKIN - A 6-year-old girl in the care of a dying meth cook was at school Wednesday morning when lawmen raided her Rivercrest home, arresting five people and seizing numerous methamphetamine labs and a cache of drug-making supplies.

Angelina County Sheriff's deputies made the bust, along with several agencies assisting, including the Angelina County SWAT team, Lufkin Police Narcotics Division and the Pct. 2 Constable.

Sheriff's Office Sgt. Allen Hill described the early morning raid as a "perfect hit," after finding not only the intended targets at the house, but several alleged meth cooks who were leaving the premises apparently after finishing a drug deal.

Those arrested at the mobile home, located at the Double Tree Mobile Home park on Triple Tree Road, included: Koty Joe Jones, 25; James William Cleaveland, 45; Lindsey Denise Miller, 19; and Terry Lee Loving, 23.

Hill said deputies found two active meth labs in two vehicles parked in front of the residence, as well as another lab inside the mobile home.

"We only got about 10 grams of finished meth, but we got thousands of dollars of chemicals from the home, which are very hard for them to come by," Hill said. "They can cook up this much meth anytime they want, but these chemicals really set them back."

Hill said the intended target, Mike Dewayne Russell, 33, known as "Iodine Mike" was also taken into custody, but was later taken to Memorial Health System of East Texas after officers realized he was suffering severe physical deterioration.

"We noticed pretty quickly that he is on the verge of dying from liver failure," he said. "So we sent him to the hospital after booking him in. This guy's liver is going bad and he's still using and cooking. It's pretty unbelievable."

The 6-year-old girl has been referred to Child Protective Services.

"You hear people asking if we need to be giving drug education in our schools, and this is a perfect example of why," Hill said. "If we don't teach them about drugs then these people will."

Hill said since the county's drug task force was disassembled more than seven years ago following new legislation from the Texas governor's office, the area has to rely on two officers to pursue narcotics production in the county. The division's budget relies solely on funds seized during narcotics raids, like those Wednesday morning.

"We want people to know that it is the public's tips that often help us find places like this," he said. "We made a good dent today in the local drug trade. It was a good day for law enforcement and a bad day for the meth business."