VAN WILL HELP LAW ENFORCEMENT BATTLE DRUGS

Officers Will Use It While Dismantling Meth Labs

A van described as a "new weapon to add to the arsenal" in the war against
methamphetamine in Central Nebraska made its debut appearance in Grand
Island Wednesday.

The van that will be stationed in Hall County was not in town.

Rather, its near-identical twin from Omaha appeared for a press conference
while the Central Nebraska van was being outfitted with its last few supplies.

Hall County Sheriff Jerry Watson made introductory remarks, noting that the
van is another weapon to fight drugs. He said the van is used both to shut
down drug labs and collect evidence.

More importantly, Watson said, the van is needed "for the protection of the
public" from toxic and explosive chemicals.

"We need this equipment to perform our jobs as safely as possible," he said.

Glenn Kemp of the Adams County Sheriff's Department is the west central
Nebraska coordinator for dismantling drug labs.

The van, which cost $52,000 fully equipped, will be stationed in Hall
County and serve an 18-county area stretching from Harlan and Franklin
counties at the Kansas border to Boyd County along the South Dakota state line.

Kemp said law enforcement often had to respond with two vehicles in an
attempt to carry all the equipment needed to shut down a meth lab. He said
seven meth labs have been shut down in the 18-county area so far this year.

Kemp said members of the van lab team include the Nebraska State Patrol,
Adams County Sheriff's Department, Hastings Police Department and Columbus
Police Department. Two officers from the Grand Island Police Department are
about to undergo training to become part of the team.

During the press conference, Kemp showed all the equipment on a fully
stocked van. It included:

* Air tanks, or self-contained breathing apparatus.

* Evidence collection materials.

* A myriad of report forms for not only law enforcement agencies but also
federal agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency.

* Gas tech monitors to get air samples from inside meth labs to detect
potentially dangerous chemicals.

* Fire extinguishers.

* A generator for power, as well as cable so an outside light source can be
brought into the lab. Kemp explained that investigators don't want to bring
heat from a light into the lab for fear of causing an explosion.

* Hoses to run water from a water tank that sits inside one of the van's
interior bench seats. The water is used to decontaminate people who have
worked inside the lab. Other bench seats in the van hold equipment such as
the decontamination suits that must be worn into a lab.

When shutting down a lab, people wear two different suits. The interior
suit is fireproof. They also wear two layers of gloves, as well as special
boots or foot coverings. Masks and air tanks are part of the wardrobe. All
that gear is duct taped.

"It's like being in a sauna," Kemp said in a muffled voice when he had
donned the gear. "It's completely sealed."

The gear emphasizes the cleanup aspects of shutting down a meth lab. But
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mick Mickle said the van also is critical in
obtaining convictions.

"The culpability of the defendant is based on the quantity of the
chemicals," he said. That's true for both precursor chemicals used in
manufacturing methamphetamine, as well as methamphetamine itself.

"If someone has 50 tablets (of one of the precursor chemicals), they have a
sinus problem," he said.

But a defendant will receive a prison sentence for possessing 500 tablets
along with the other necessary ingredients and equipment, Mickle said. The
prison sentence will be even longer for 5,000 tablets.

Likewise, a vial in a lab may have three layers of liquid, with
methamphetamine detectable in only one layer, Mickle said.

Mark Dreher and Kevin Sheeks of the Grand Island Police Department are
joining the Nebraska Clan (Clandestine) Lab Team. Initially, they will only
work outside the crime scene perimeter, but they will be fully certified by
early 2002.

Sheeks said he wanted to join the team to gain experience and work with
other law enforcement agencies. He has been in Grand Island for 18 months.

Dreher has been with the department for 12 years. In that time, "I've seen
the meth problem grow like crazy. I wanted to help out."

Kemp said Midwestern states such as Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and
others have seen increases in meth labs because of a false perception by
criminals that they are likely to escape detection in isolated rural areas.
He said that's not true.

A $525,000 grant purchased two vans for Nebraska. The money also will be
used for training team members and restocking the vans.