The Barton County Sheriff’s Office discovered a suspected methamphetamine lab on Wednesday afternoon, in a large shop building at 395 North U.S. 281. Property that was previously reported stolen was also recovered, Detective David Paden said.

Ben Moses, 23, was arrested and booked on charges of aiding and abetting manufacturing of methamphetamine, possession of ephedrine, possession of drug manufacturing paraphernalia and possession of stolen property. He was booked into the Barton County Jail with bond set at $300,000.

Paden was working on an unrelated case when he talked to Moses around 3 p.m. "I was actually investigating a scrap iron theft across the street," he said. They walked into Moses’ garage, and the items consistent with a meth production lab were in plain view, he added.

BCSO Detective Rick Popp came to help Paden process the suspected lab, and that’s when they found other items, including a cutting torch that was previously reported stolen from a residence near the Russell County line in Barton County.

The investigation into the meth production lab and the stolen property is ongoing.