METH LAB TALLY DROPS FOR '06

Noble, Steuben Post Significant Decreases

Seizures of methamphetamine labs in Indiana fell below 1,000 in 2006
for the first time in four years, the Indiana State Police announced Friday.

The state police and other agencies seized 993 labs last year,
compared with 1,303 the year before, spokesman Sgt. Rodger Popplewell said.

Within the Fort Wayne district, methamphetamine labs dropped from 128
in 2005 to 71 last year, Popplewell said.

Several northeast Indiana counties saw dramatic drops. While Noble
County again had the highest number of labs in the Fort Wayne
district, its total dropped from 47 in 2005 to 24 last year.

Steuben County boasted the most dramatic drop in the area - from 31
labs in 2005 to just three in 2006, Popplewell said.

The highly addictive stimulant methamphetamine can be "cooked" in
makeshift laboratories in homes, hotel rooms, outbuildings, woods and
vehicles. The cooking process is volatile and involves dangerous
chemicals, and leaves behind toxic residue.

Last year was the third year in a row that the drug lab seizures have
gone down in the state since reaching an all-time high of 1,549 in
2004, according to state police data.

Law enforcement officers credit the continual drop to ongoing,
"proactive" enforcement and restrictions on common ingredients used
to cook the drug, said 1st Sgt. Lori Petro of the state police's
Methamphetamine Suppression Section.

The Methamphetamine Protection Act, which took effect in July 2005,
restricted the sale of medications containing pseudoephedrine and
ephedrine, key ingredients for the illegal drug making.

The law required the tracking of sales of the drugs in paper logs,
and the state is working to put the logs online to make them more
helpful to police, who have to travel to pharmacies to check them.

Being able to better monitor the pharmacy logs will help the fight
even more, Petro said.

Petro stressed that even this year's reduced total averages to more
than 2 1/2 lab seizures daily.

"It's still too many," she said. "But that's a step in the right direction."

Petro singled out tough prosecution in Noble in Steuben counties as
having an effect on bringing lab seizures down.

Would-be methamphetamine cooks know they're likely to spend time in
prison if they get caught in those counties, she said.

"We're just glad it's down," Steuben County Prosecutor Thomas Wilson
said Friday.

Currently, law enforcement is concerned with an influx of imported
meth, which brings its own set of problems, Wilson said.

Imported meth can be lumped into the same category as any other
street drug, such as cocaine or heroin, Noble County Chief Deputy
Doug Harp said.

The discovery of a methamphetamine lab site keeps many law
enforcement officers tied up for hours, while the arrest of a dealer
can take just minutes, Harp said. "I'd much rather deal with a meth
dealer than a meth lab," he said.

In addition to precursor restrictions, Harp credits Noble County
residents for taking the initiative to call police when they suspect
production of the drug. "There's been a lot of public awareness," he
said. "They don't want that stuff in their neighborhood."