THORNTON SAYS METH LABS A 'SERIOUS' PROBLEM

Sampson County Sheriff's investigators are getting reports of
methamphetamine labs across the county an average of once every three
days this year. More than a third of those calls are yielding meth
labs or components from the labs -- and that number will look
minuscule as the year progresses, the sheriff said.

"It's apparent we have a serious problem," Sheriff Jimmy Thornton
said this past week as he looked at numbers compiled by his Special
Investigations Division, assigned to respond to calls of meth labs
and other drug-related incidents.

"We would not have been to 18 locations in 52 days if we did not have
a meth problem," he noted. "Seven out of these 18 (calls) have
produced a dump site or a lab. You can see it's a serious problem."

A "dump site" is used to describe an abandoned meth lab or area where
byproducts, remains and trash created during the production of the
drug are discarded. Law enforcement officials said the sites can be
as dangerous as an active meth lab.

The situation of meth in Sampson County is one that can be looked at
a number of ways, Thornton said. On the one hand, the county has a
"serious problem" that puts it on pace to have far more meth labs
this year that the 11 it had in 2007, which ranked it fourth in the
entire state. On the other hand, more people in the county have
become aware of what to look for and are on the lookout for
suspicious activity, which they are then notifying law enforcement about.

"Something's working or we wouldn't have 18 locations," the sheriff
said. "We wouldn't have gotten 18 locations had the public not
informed us. Not only have we been vigilant, but the people have been
vigilant. My hat's off to the drug unit and the people of this
county. Without question, they've been our best asset."

Thornton said that the problem of meth is far-reaching, being not
only the physical and psychological addiction of one individual. It's
impact is felt by that individual's family and friends and the
community as a whole -- when labs are put into operation, crimes are
committed and law enforcement response is needed.

"It's not just our problem," said Thornton, "it's the community's
problem. We're in this together. It drives all the other crime."

And the community knows that, he said.

The sheriff said that he gets calls every day from parents, spouses,
church members and others who know someone on meth, telling
heartbreaking stories of loss, isolation and abandonment and begging
anyone for help.

"They know the impact it's had on people's lives," said Thornton.

The sheriff said that his office will continue to focus on the
problem of methamphetamine, which has seemingly taken over the county
- -- at least the northern part. Thornton estimated that 75 percent of
the responses made by SID to calls of meth labs have been in the
north end of Sampson.

"We're not playing," said Thornton. "We're not going to put it on the
backburner."

Despite laws enacted in early 2006 to regulate the sale of meth's key
ingredient, the sheriff said that manufacturers of the drug have
found ways to dodge roadblocks in producing the drug and feeding their habit.

"For the life of me, I don't know how they get the pseudoephedrine,"
Thornton said. "If they want to do something bad enough, they are
going to get the ingredients they need."

The SID commander said that methamphetamine, and the manufacture of
it, is a clique operation.

"You have to be part of a certain clique," said the commander, who
works under anonymity. "The cook sends users out to get
pseudoephedrine legally. That's why it's hard to work this drug. And
that's why we run into the same names a lot of the time."

Locations where meth is being manufactured can often be riddled with
booby traps and surveillance systems, with cameras in trees and
windows to spy on those who may be spying on them. Thornton said that
such surveillance equipment is found at about "95 percent" of the
labs. Weapons are also found at a number of locations, officials said.

Once a meth lab or dump site is found, the number of impending
man-hours required to secure and dismantle the labs can be daunting,
the sheriff said. It takes anywhere from 12 to 72 hours, and the
requirement that four deputies be present, to have a lab successfully
dismantled, with state authorities and hazardous materials (HAZMAT)
teams also called to respond, he said.

"More time is spent at a meth lab than at a murder scene," Thornton remarked.

And that long stretch of man-hours has been put in seven times this
year, and will likely be logged again.

"There's more to put on the books," the sheriff said of suspected
meth responses. "This 18 is real, real small."

The problem of meth and citizens' awareness of that problem is, after
all, a two-fold situation.

"I think we always need to keep it out there," said Thornton. "Not
for my benefit or the Sheriff's Office's benefit, but for the benefit
of the community."

Concerns about suspicious activity can be called in to the Sampson
County Sheriff's Office at 910-592-4141 or the Sheriff's Anonymous
Tip Line at 910-564-5261.