BREWER, Maine — Brewer police and Maine Drug Enforcement Agency investigators arrested two Bangor men in connection with two suspected methamphetamine operations they said are related and arrested a Brewer man in connection with a third lab.

Sean Murphy, 25, and Robert Seeley, 37, were charged with unlawful operation of a methamphetamine laboratory after city police and state drug enforcement agents conducted an investigation at the Big Apple convenience store on South Main Street, Deputy Chief Jason Moffitt of the Brewer Police Department said Tuesday.





The Class B felony crime with which they have been charged carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $20,000.

The meth-making operation at the Big Apple was the second uncovered in Brewer in two days, and another at the Village Green Motel was the third.

Moffitt said that the two men apparently were “actively engaged” in meth-making when police went to the store to look into a report of suspicious activity in the parking lot.

On Tuesday evening, police found another suspected meth lab at the Village Green Motel on Wilson Street, Moffitt said.

While Moffitt declined to say what led investigators to the motel, he added, “We’re 100 percent convinced that [the lab at the motel] is connected to the methamphetamine lab on South Main Street.”

Moffitt said the meth labs that Murphy and Seeley are accused of operating are not connected to a third operation, which was discovered on Monday afternoon while Brewer police were executing a search warrant at a residence on North Main Street, near the Joshua Chamberlain Bridge.

Walter Botelho, 51, of Brewer was arrested Monday after a search of his residence allegedly turned up a firearm.

He was charged with possession of a firearm by a felon, Moffitt said.

Drug agents were investigating the home on Tuesday, and Moffitt said it’s possible Botelho could face drug charges once the investigation concludes.

Botelho was taken to Penobscot County Jail after his arrest.

Bangor Daily News writer Ryan McLaughlin contributed to this report.