A Taco Bell restaurant in Iowa may have doubled as a methamphetamine lab as authorities found Coleman fuel, lye, drain cleaner and other items inside the establishment.
The Associated Press reported that police found two men outside the restaurant in Cedar Rapids when it was closed. One man said he was a Taco Bell employee and the officers entered the building. Once inside they discovered the items.
The men, identified as Christopher Adam Matous, 31, and Kent Jerome Duby, 56, were arrested and charged with possession and conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine.
The Taco Bell restaurant was closed following the incident so it could be sanitized and the company released a statement addressing the issue.
"We understand that two people, one an employee, entered our franchisee’s restaurant illegally, allegedly possessing suspicious items. Both we and our franchisee find this completely unacceptable. Our franchisee has been cooperating with Cedar Rapids Police to investigate this isolated incident. Although the suspicious items found in the restaurant were not used in the kitchen, the employee has been terminated and our franchisee is considering pressing criminal charges. The restaurant will reopen after it has been sanitized inspected by the Health Department.”
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