TASK FORCE ON METH SHOWS OFF NEW TRUCK USE

DUNLAP, Tenn. -- Members of the Southeast Tennessee Methamphetamine Task
Force introduced their latest tool to expedite rural methamphetamine
investigations here Thursday -- a modified clandestine-lab response truck.

The four-door Ford F-350 crew cab with a modified utility bed includes
"everything needed for an on-site meth-amphetamine investigation" and can
be used by any of the 18 Southeast Tennessee counties serviced by the task
force, said Sgt. Tommy Farmer with the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office
narcotics unit.

"This vehicle can aid local law enforcement with everything needed to get
ready for a prosecution," Mr. Farmer said. The truck, based at the U.S.
National Guard Armory in Dunlap, was funded with a $860,000 federal grant
through Rep. Zach Wamp's office and the Department of Justice, Mr. Farmer said.

It will primarily service the Sequatchie Valley, but the task force is
hoping to equip one more truck to serve counties on the east side of the
Tennessee River, including McMinn, Polk and Meigs.

During a brief presentation at the Armory, 3rd District Rep. Wamp of
Chattanooga encouraged local law enforcement officials to "keep up the
fight" against methamphetamine production and use in rural Southeast
Tennessee. The coordinated effort to eliminate the drug by local, state and
federal officials in the region "is one of the finest in the country," he
added.

Dave Shelton with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration office in
Chattanooga said the $40,000 investment in the response truck will promote
the safety of law enforcement officers and community members. It has been
equipped with a generator to light lab sites, mobile breathing apparatuses,
a 100-gallon water tank to use during decontamination procedures and all
necessary drug-testing equipment.

In addition, the truck is equipped with cameras and video recording
equipment and a computer hooked into the recently initiated task force data
base, Mr. Shelton said.

This data base eventually will contain every meth-related suspect,
investigation and lab bust in the region to help aid in "conspiracy
prosecutions," according to Russ Dedrick, U.S. attorney, Eastern District
of Tennessee, who also spoke during the afternoon meeting.