POLICE CRACK METH LAB'S CLEVER COVER

A South Salt Lake man is behind bars for allegedly converting a
24-foot-long truck -- complete with the name and emblem of a global
soft-drink company -- into a meth lab.

"Who would think this Pepsi truck would hold a meth lab inside?" asked
South Salt Lake police Lt. Charles Illsley. "It's the most innovative cover
we've seen."

Police do not know how long 41-year-old Joel Bronson has owned the truck,
but have learned that he purchased it at an auction. Bronson owns an area
towing company and has never been employed by Pepsi, Illsley said.

No stranger to police, Bronson has been selling methamphetamine in the Salt
Lake County area since the mid-1990s and has served jail time for
drug-related convictions, authorities said. But catching Bronson of late
had proved more difficult, officials said, because of his unorthodox drug
operation. Police are accustomed to issuing search warrants at typical meth
lab sites -- homes, apartments, hotels or motels -- because they are
stationary. Carrying out those search warrants is complicated, however,
when dealing with a mobile target. What's more, its exterior served as the
perfect guise.

"That truck could legitimately be seen anywhere -- in residential areas,
industrial parks," Illsley said.

Police arrested Bronson last week and seized 3 pounds of meth and $30,000
in cash from his South Salt Lake home, Illsley said. Bronson is charged
with felony possession of methamphetamines with intent to distribute, and
is being held at the Salt Lake County Jail on a $100,000 cash-only bond.

Prior to Bronson's arrest, police had raided another Salt Lake County
residence, where they uncovered $60,000 in cash and 24 cases of
pseudoephedrine, a common ingredient in meth. Police believe the
residence's occupants may have ties to Bronson, Illsley said.

Police investigators said Bronson's truck was equipped with holes in the
ceiling for ventilation and a bench so a meth cook could sit down while
spending long hours brewing the highly toxic drug concoctions. Police have
yet to determine whether Bronson sold drugs from his truck.