BAR HARBOR, Maine — Two people have been arrested after a methamphetamine lab was discovered in a vehicle in Bar Harbor on Tuesday, according to the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency.
Arrested and charged were Zachary R. Rand, 25, of Southwest Harbor and Joseph Schaefer, 23, of Otter Creek, MDEA Commander Peter Arno said.
Rand is facing a charge of aggravated trafficking in Schedule W drugs and Schaefer trafficking in Schedule W drugs. Rand’s charge was elevated to aggravated due to a prior drug conviction, Arno said.
On Monday, Bar Harbor police received information that individuals were looking to acquire materials used to manufacture meth, Arno said.
Officers found a Jeep Liberty in the parking lot of a Cottage Street business in downtown Bar Harbor believed to be occupied by the suspects, and Rand was hiding in the back seat, police said. Schaefer was found in the area and detained, according to Arno. Rand was initially arrested on unrelated warrants and Schaefer for violating his bail.
Bar Harbor police subsequently notified drug agents and a search warrant for the Jeep was executed on Tuesday, Arno said. Numerous pieces of evidence consistent with meth manufacturing were located, along with a gram of meth.
Both men are being held at the Hancock County Jail. More arrests are possible in the case.
It is the second suspected meth lab police have found in Bar Harbor this year, the first being in a home on Gilbert Farm Road that police busted in March. According to Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety, it is the 52nd meth lab-related incident in Maine for 2015 — a record for a calendar year.
