MANCHESTER — Federal drug agents in white jumpsuits and respirators dismantled a methamphetamine laboratory inside a West Merrimack Street townhouse apartment discovered by Hillsborough County deputy sheriffs serving an eviction order Tuesday.

The deputies were met at the door of the 148 West Merrimack St. brick row house by four tenants about 10:30 a.m. During a routine security sweep of the premises, authorities found in a second-floor bedroom materials, chemicals and solvents used in the “one-pot” method of cooking methamphetamine, officials said.

They included a clear, plastic Hawaiian Punch bottle that appeared to have just been used to cook a batch of the highly addictive drug and other chemicals, Sgt. Brian Newcomb of the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Department said.

“One-pot” methamphetamine labs — also known as “Shake and Bake” labs — are gaining popularity because of the ease and speed with which they allow the drug to be made, according to the DEA. Manufacturers can make a batch of the drug in about 30 minutes by shaking the ingredients in easilyfound containers, such as plastic bottles, according to the DEA web site.

Jason Spurlin, 36, was arrested and charged with manufacture of methamphetamine, a Class A felony, Newcomb said. The other three tenants were not charged, he said.

Neighbor Kenny Powers said he watched as more and more law enforcement and fire officials arrived in the rear parking lot of 148 West Merrimack St. It was only later in the day that he learned what started as an eviction proceeding escalated to an alleged methamphetamine lab take-down.

“It's kind of nerve-wracking. I don't want to get blown through a door,” Powers, 35, said, referring to the potential the labs have for explosions.

Powers said the four people he thought lived in the apartment moved in about eight months to a year ago.

“They let the place run down. They were up all hours of the night,” Powers said.

Investigators are looking into whether the Wee Play School at 200 Bedford St. lies within 1,000 feet of the apartment, Newcomb said. If so, Spurlin also would be charged with methamphetamine manufacture within a school zone, he said.

DEA Clandestine Laboratory agents were brought in to remove the materials. Manchester Fire Department also was on scene with its hazardous materials unit.

Neighboring townhouses were not evacuated nor were utilities shut off as DEA agents worked in to the evening.

“There was no immediate danger involving any chemical reaction,” Newcomb said.

The four deputy sheriffs who discovered the lab recently took a training course on “one-pot” methamphetamine manufacture, Newcomb said.

Spurlin is set to be arraigned today in Ninth Circuit District Court in Manchester.