A Peoria man is accused of producing illicit drugs from a hidden room in his house, believed to make fentanyl, methamphetamine and a "date-rape" drug.
Jason Daniel Ginn, 49, faces felony charges of possessing and producing drugs from the residence following his Sept. 1 arrest in a case that was building for months. It was only the latest in a string of criminal cases against Ginn involving drugs and drug production.
Police first became aware of his latest problem in November 2025, when they received two 911 calls three days apart for women who had overdosed at a residence on West Mauna Loa Drive.
At that time, a man — police didn't identify who — "shut the door on police and said he only needed the fire department."
In April, a woman who had lived at the house told police that Ginn was selling fentanyl, meth and cocaine from the house.
In August, police arrested a man with fentanyl whose address was the same as Ginn's. Police then inquired with an unnamed source who had previously resided at the house, who said Ginn sold a pound of meth each day.
"While the source was living at the residence, he helped Jason build a concealed room that is accessed from the garage," police reports said. "Only Jason has access to the room via a fob-style remote. Inside the room is a GHB lab. GHB is gamma-hydroxybutyrate and is also known as a 'date-rape drug.'"
Police surveilled the residence for several days in late August and raided it Sept. 1. Inside, they found two drums holding about 40 gallons of dimethyltryptamine, a hallucinogenic drug. The drums were too heavy to be removed, police said, so the contents had to be carried out in smaller buckets.
The possession and manufacturing charges are only the latest cases against Ginn.
In 2009, Ginn grabbed his then-girlfriend by her hair and pulled her into a closet during an argument that led a neighbor to call the police.
Between March and May 2011, while Ginn was still on probation for assaulting his girlfriend, police tied him to an elaborate theft operation involving gift cards for Lowes and Home Depot. He was convicted of three counts of fraudulent schemes and aggravated identity theft for those crimes.
A search of Ginn's residence turned up more than 20 credit cards in "various stages of counterfeiting." Police said Ginn used the counterfeits to purchase gift cards that he then used or sold to others. Police estimated the value of goods taken or damaged at more than $100,000, records show.
In August 2012, Ginn was convicted in Lubbock, Texas, of possessing drugs.
Six months later, in February 2013, police found meth inside Ginn's wallet and $1,000 in cash. It was evidence of a drug-dealing operation, police said. That crime sent Ginn to prison from 2013 until 2019, records show.
In April 2021, Ginn was arrested on suspicion of producing drugs and counterfeiting currency inside a Glendale residence. The operation was large enough that the city deemed the house unsafe, records show. After his release on those charges the next day, Ginn was arrested for trying to reenter the property and was convicted of trespassing.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Suspected drug factory inside Peoria house uncovered by police