Authorities discovered an active meth lab inside a Taco Bell in Cedar Rapids, Ia. on Tuesday.
Police arrived at the restaurant only to find ingredients to make meth, including Coleman fuel, lye, drain cleaner, and other materials commonly associated with the drug, reported KWWL. Christopher Mathous, an employee, was found outside with a peeled lithium battery—another meth ingredient—near his feet.
Mathous confessed to officers that he made his own personal stash of meth to “stay high all the time.”
The Taco Bell will remain closed until investigations are completed and the store is decontaminated by “professional environmental experts.”
“At this time, there is no evidence that there is a health risk to the public,” Pramod Dwivedi, health director at the Linn County Public Health Department, said.
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Write to Tanya Basu at tanya.basu@time.com