'NAZI' LABORATORIES

A disturbing development of late on the South Plains is the appearance
of "Nazi labs" -- small methamphetamine manufacturing operations, so
named because of a similarity to methods used by German scientists in
World War II.

The covert methamphetamine labs are usually set up in out-of-the-way
locations.

Lawmen have broken up three such labs in the area recently: one at a
farmhouse in Meadow, another in a shed in an abandoned farmhouse south
of Levelland and one near Reese Technology Center.

The arrests in the Meadow operation were made possible by an alert
Wal-Mart manager in Lamesa who reported two men who tried to buy 12
boxes of antihistamines, which can be used in the manufacture of
methamphetamine.

The men were not allowed to make the purchase because of a federal law
that prohibits the purchase of more than three boxes at a time --
which is a good law.

In Hockley County, deputies were tipped off by the man who owned the
land where the covert drug manufacturing operation was
headquartered.

The Wal-Mart manager and the Hockley County landowner are heroes. They
played key roles in stopping the manufacture of poison that destroys
lives.

Criminals who set up such methamphetamine labs count on finding remote
locations in a big area that is hard to cover by lawmen. But alert
residents can help lawmen by keeping their eyes open and reporting
anything suspicious.