WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — A former high-ranking National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) officer has been charged with making methamphetamine in a secured government research facility, US media reported on Tuesday.
According to court records, NIST security officer Christopher Bartley allegedly was producing the drug on July 18 when an explosion took place at a government lab in Maryland, NBC Washington reported.
Following the blast, chemicals and a recipe for making methamphetamine were found at the scene.
Prosecutors also say Bartley "knowing and intentionally" tried to manufacture meth, according to the reports.
Meanwhile, the former US official is scheduled to appear in federal court at 10 a.m. on Friday.
NIST is a non-regulatory agency of the US Department of Commerce, which is also one of the country’s oldest physical science laboratory.
