BANGOR, Maine — A pair of Maine Drug Enforcement agents in hazmat suits collected evidence outside a McDonald’s Thursday morning after an employee discovered containers that police believe were used to produce methamphetamine.
Bangor firefighters stood by with a hose at the ready, and police blocked off the drive-thru behind the building while the agents worked. The restaurant remained open.
An employee at the Broadway McDonald’s was emptying parking lot trash containers Thursday morning when he or she discovered the items, according to Bangor police Assistant Chief Brad Johnston. As the employee carried the trash bags to a dumpster inside a garage behind the business, one of the bags started to smoke. The employee left that bag outside the garage and McDonald’s staff called police.
Bangor police spokesman Sgt. Tim Cotton said police believe the person or persons threw away the items sometime in the past 24 hours.
Police expect to review surveillance camera images of the parking lot in an attempt to find whoever dumped the items.
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection also assisted at the cleanup site.
Police discovered a possible meth lab on Hammond Street Wednesday, but Johnston said police don’t believe there is any connection between the two. Johnston said he expected police would clear the area around McDonald’s around noon.
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