Five children, ranging in age from newborn to 6 years old, were removed from the custody of their mother Thursday after Drug Task Force agents located a meth lab inside their Opp home.

Amy Osborn, 23, faces five counts of chemical endangerment of a child, first-degree manufacturing and possession of drug paraphernalia, DTF agent Sgt. Ray Dixon said.

“We had learned that Ms. Osborn and her ‘significant other’ Brenton Pauley were in possession of the precursor chemicals used to make meth,” Dixon said. “We were later able to learn that the two were living in a residence on West Hart Avenue in Opp, so we went there to ask them a few questions.

“As soon as we stepped on the porch, we could smell the strong odor of methamphetamine,” he said. “We beat on the door, but no one answered. An agent walked around the back of the house to peer into one of the windows.”

What agents saw prompted them to enter the residence, Dixon said.

“There were no curtains on the window, and we could see a newborn baby inside the house,” he said. “Fearing for the child’s safety, we entered the residence.”

Dixon said when agents questioned Osborn about the suspected illegal activity occurring at the residence, she confessed to manufacturing meth.

“We sat her down on the couch, read (Osborn) her rights, and she admitted to agents that they had cooked meth on at least on four separate occasions — with her five children in the house.”

In addition, Dixon said agents located various items, including pseudoephedrine products, used in making the illegal substance inside the home.

Dixon said agents contacted the Covington County Department of Human Resources concerning the welfare of children. All five were later placed into the custody of their grandmother.

“(The meth odor) was so bad inside the house we advised (the grandmother) that if she didn’t need clothes for the children to not even bother,” Dixon said.

Dixon said Pauley was not at the residence at the time when agents arrived.

“Apparently the two had some kind of domestic dispute and he had left the house sometime between Sept. 16 and 18 and was staying with a friend in Virginia,” he said. “Warrants have been signed for his arrest for the same charges Osborn faces.”

Dixon said once Pauley is located, he will be extradited to Covington County to face the charges.

Currently, Osborn is in the Covington County Jail on a $1,525,000 bond.