By Editorial Staff
(June 27, 2026) — A Higganum man faces a court appearance next month on charges connected to an explosion last September at a home on Staba Drive. 53 year old Andrew Lirot was seriously injured in the blast, and according to the arrest warrant, told medical personnel at Middlesex Hospital that burns he had suffered in the explosion were the result of a gas grill accident.
A subsequent investigation by Connecticut State Police and the Drug Enforcement Agency determined that chemicals such as Ammonium Nitrate and Pseudoephedrine as well as other items found at Lirot’s home were being used to make methamphetamine. Lirot was taken into custody in December of 2025 and charged with Operation of a Drug Factory, a Class E Felony. He was released on bond of $25,000 and faces his next court appearance in Middletown on July 10, 2026.
Wow! Right in our own back yards! And the danger these people present, not only to our neighborhoods but our children as well. You would think that the State of Connecticut and law enforcement would be giving us a heads up on the warning signs of these kinds of operations going on around us. I’m sure there are many more and quiet secluded communities like the Haddam’s seem like the perfect place to hide them.