Captain Luke Vislay, director of the Division of Drug and Crime Control, announced this week that a narcotics investigation led to the seizure early Friday of meth lab on Helmig Road in western Gasconade County and two arrests.

“As a result of a short-term narcotics investigation by members of the Lake Area Narcotics Enforcement Group, a search warrant was applied for on a camper trailer and shed on Helmig Road near Mt. Sterling, Mo.,” said Vislay’s department. “The search warrant was served during the early morning hours of Sept. 26, 2008. During a search of the property, a fully functional clandestine methamphetamine laboratory, methamphetamine, a marijuana grow operation, processed marijuana, and items of drug paraphernalia were seized.”

Arrested at the scene were Dustin Hayes, 24, of Mt. Sterling, and Lacey Higginbotham, 20, of Linn, Mo.   The Gasconade County prosecutor will seek formal, drug-related charges, the DDCC said. The Gasconade County Sheriff’s Department assisted in this investigation.

The Lake Area Narcotics Enforcement Group is a multi-jurisdictional drug task force. Its members include the sheriff departments of Gasconade, Laclede, Camden, Dallas, Pulaski, and Crawford counties, as well as the Lebanon and Osage Beach police departments.  LANEG is governed by a board of directors and is coordinated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

“The above charges are mere accusations and are not evidence of guilt,” the DDCC notes. “Evidence in support of these charges must be presented before a court of competent jurisdiction whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.”