A routine traffic stop early Saturday morning led lawenforcement officers to a meth lab on Flint Trail and the arrest ofthree men on drug charges.

Scott E. Crosby, 33, of 2035 Parkhill Ln., Bogue Chitto, andSteven P. Etheridge, 27, of 2148 Flint Trail, Bogue Chitto, areboth charged with possession of methamphetamine and conspiracy tomanufacture meth, according to Capt. Chris Picou, a narcoticsofficer with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department.

Tony Brocato, 34, of 294 Young Rd., Vidalia, La., has beencharged with conspiracy to manufacture meth, Picou said.

Crosby and Etheridge remained in custody at the Lincoln CountyJail Tuesday afternoon. Brocato was still in custody at the jailTuesday afternoon, but was expected to be returned to the jail inConcordia Parish, La.

At the time of his arrest here, Picou said, Brocato was on afelony bond in Concordia Parish for manufacturing meth. That chargewas made after Brocato burned down his house April 2 whilemanufacturing meth, Picou said.

The new charges, Picou said, came after he stopped Crosby’s 1981Chevrolet pick up on Highway 98 near Jackson-Liberty Road on atraffic violation and they acted suspiciously.

“Once I stopped the three guys, I got consent to search fromCrosby,” Picou said.

Approximately three grams of meth were found in Crosby’s pantspocket, Picou said. A subsequent search on Etheridge turned upabout 10 grams of meth in his pants leg. No meth was found on asearch of Brocato.

A search of the truck, however, turned up starter fluid andfreon, both used in the production of meth.

“That led me to believe there might be a lab somewhere,” Picousaid.

Etheridge lives near where the stop was made, Picou said, and herequested and received consent to search the man’s home.

“Once at the house we found everything there to manufacturemeth,” Picou said.

The Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics was notified of the lab,Picou said, and dispatched their meth team to investigate thescene. All the chemicals and equipment needed to manufacture methwere found in the home.