WINNING THE WAR ON METH

Fewer Arrests, Lab Busts

For all the talk of Perth County being the crystal meth capital of
Ontario it's been awfully quiet lately.

Where is all the meth?

Officials caution it's still common across the county and in some
neighbouring counties as well.

"We believe it's still very prevalent in our community," said Mayor
Dan Mathieson, chair of the Perth County Task Force on Crystal Meth.
"With regards to production of the drug we're not seeing it on such a
widespread basis but we still believe it occurs."

In 2003, police busted 14 clandestine meth labs in the province.
Eleven of those were in Perth County.

A lab discovered in an Ontario Street apartment when police drove by
and saw what they thought was smoke from a fire was believed to be
the biggest meth bust in Canadian history at the time. Police seized
about $400,000 worth of meth and marijuana. It has since lost the
distinction of being the largest meth bust.

The last Perth County meth lab was discovered in 2006 at a rented
farmhouse outside St. Marys. Perth OPP called it a "multi-tiered drug
facility" because there was also a marijuana grow-op inside and a
marijuana oil extraction lab. Neither of the two men arrested was local.

Perth County OPP Const. Glen Childerley noted some of the big players
in the meth underground are doing time, so they aren't producing.
That may explain why there have been so few busted lately.

"In my opinion there's a core group who use it and produce it," he
said. Some of the bigger players are doing time in penitentiaries.
Changes in legislation promised stiffer sentences.

More commonly now, the courts are seeing addicts rather than cooks
come through.

Stratford police Insp. Sam Theocharis agreed that some of the bigger
meth cooks are in jail but noted the smaller operations can be more
difficult to find. The drug can be made in a bucket in the trunk of a car.

"The unfortunate thing for police is manufacturing (meth) is very
portable. The small-time cook and dealer can easily move around from
location to location," he said.

Sooner or later dealers and producers who do go to jail are released.
In some cases it's a matter of months.

In a recent case, a 45-year-old Stratford man spent 10 months in jail
after he was arrested with 30 grams of meth in his car worth $3,000.
In his apartment police found another $400 worth of meth and a
sawed-off shotgun. OPP have been keeping up on known dealers and
producers when they're released.

"We make sure they follow the conditions (of probation) and really
try to work on that revolving door," said Insp. Mark Andrews,
Sebringville OPP detachment commander. "We've been successful, but
the war is far from over."

A good example of the pressure on dealers came last week when a
52-year-old man known to be on probation was stopped when an OPP
officer saw him riding his bike past curfew. He was allegedly
carrying 6.3 grams of crystal meth at the time along with three
percocet pills and drug paraphernalia. He was charged with two counts
of trafficking meth.

The Perth County Task Force on Crystal Meth is looking to use
education campaigns to target those susceptible to trying the drug.

"We need to further branch out education campaigns to the users. If
we shut that down there's no need to produce," Mayor Mathieson said.

"We're trying to make information available to young adults in the
community. They're the segment of the population most susceptible to use."

As for the general population, some of the information about meth
seems to have gotten through. Insp. Andrews noted there were a rash
of propane tank thefts, which are often used in meth production.

"Usually people don't report that, but now people are starting to.
They're much more aware," he said.

The education campaign also extended to retailers who sell some of
the ingredients used in making meth. They know to be suspicious when
someone comes in for loads of lithium batteries, anhydrous ammonia
and paint thinner, some of the ingredients used in production.

Though it wasn't a lab, there was a significant drug bust in
Stratford in April dubbed Project Cranked. Police arrested 12
Stratford and area residents and seized about $200,000 worth of drugs
including crystal meth. Police said at the time there was enough meth
to addict 800 people.

The meth task force put an extra $90,000 toward enforcement and were
credited with the success of Project Cranked.

"I believe there's a lot of work to do. Vigilance is the only remedy
we have," said Mayor Mathieson.

"It could be significantly worse than it is," he acknowledged. "It's
under control but you'll never eradicate it. If you think you can you're naive."