DEA HELPS LOCAL POLICE FIGHT METH

Officers' Training Lets Them Handle Lab Raids

Like calling big brother for help, the Richmond County Sheriff's Office
once relied on the Drug Enforcement Administration every time it busted a
methamphetamine lab. But as manufacture of the easily made drug spread from
the Midwest to the East, the federal agency saw a need to train local and
state officers to recognize and clean up the highly toxic labs.

So last month, when Richmond County narcotics investigators raided what
they said was a meth lab in a manufactured home on Bath Patterson Road near
Hephzibah, they were able to handle the call themselves.

Investigators Mathue Phares and Dale Pittard were among 160 state and local
officers in Georgia who received DEA training last year.

"We had no training before," sheriff's Lt. Robert Partain said. "These guys
have a better understanding of what they have to do now."

DEA Administrator Asa Hutchinson will hold a news conference today in
Savannah to highlight the training and other efforts by the agency to fight
the spread of methamphetamines to Georgia from the Midwest, where officers
raid an average of one meth lab a day.

"They are just inundated with it, and it's moving this way," said DEA Agent
Pat Clayton, who works in the Augusta office. "We went from having a couple
of labs a year to 20 last year" in the Augusta area.

In Georgia, 51 labs were raided last year, and the cleanup cost was
$832,000, DEA spokeswoman Alison Williams said. The manufacture of 1 pound
of methamphetamines produces 6 pounds of waste, including corrosive
liquids, acid vapors and other harmful materials that can cause
disfigurement or death if they make contact with the skin or are inhaled.

"You can't just sweep it up and take it to a local landfill," Ms. Williams
said. "You have to have special equipment."

Mr. Hutchinson has taken on methamphetamines as a particular challenge,
launching a national awareness tour last month. Calling it a Not in Our
Town tour, the former Arkansas congressman is telling agencies nationwide
that the spread of meth labs can only be attacked one neighborhood at a time.

Agent Clayton, who will meet with Mr. Hutchinson during his Savannah visit,
said the DEA plans to use civic groups and governmental agencies in the
fight, asking them to help educate the public on the drug's dangers.

"That's really what it's going to take to stop the problem," he said. "It's
a very destructive drug."

In Richmond County, the spread of the drug is well-documented:

- -- A judge ordered a three-year sentence May 2 for an Augusta woman whose
makeshift meth labs led to fires at local hotels. The judge gave her a
light sentence because she had provided information to narcotics agents.

- -- Police seized three meth labs in a wide-ranging bust Nov. 5 in south
Augusta that resulted in the arrest of three men. The labs were on
Patterson Bridge Road and Windsor Spring Road.

- -- On Oct. 25, officers charged three men in south Augusta with
manufacturing methamphetamines, arresting them as they were leaving a
suspected meth lab on Fulcher Road. Officers said they seized a meth lab
and drug-making materials from the home and a vehicle.

TELLTALE SIGNS

What are methamphetamines?

They are a powerful stimulant made with common household chemicals.
Methamphetamines are highly addictive and are taken by swallowing,
inhaling, injecting or smoking. The side effects include irritability,
nervousness, insomnia, nausea, depression and brain damage.

Signs of a meth lab:

Glassware - Meth labs have odd-shaped bottles and glasses in which the
methamphetamines are cooked.

Chemical fumes - Odors from chemicals used as catalysts, such as iodine,
ether and phosphorus, will be in the air.

Location - Meth manufacturers need ventilation to make their product. Their
shelters can be tents, garages and sheds.

Chemicals - Substances such as iodine, red phosphorus, ether, ephedrine or
anhydrous ammonia can be used.