DEPUTIES ARREST 134 IN METH CRACKDOWN

TAMPA - Three months of investigation into Hillsborough County's
illicit methamphetamine trade has netted 134 arrests, 15 search
warrants and the removal of $1.3 million worth of drugs from the
streets, Sheriff David Gee announced at a news conference Tuesday.

Under Operation Ice Breaker, deputies began buying the drugs from
suspects March 27. They've since provided State Attorney Mark Ober
with evidence of major methamphetamine trafficking, including items
from three clandestine labs in the Seffner and Mango areas and from
three businesses accused of selling drug paraphernalia, Gee said.

The labs were home-based in eastern Hillsborough, and each produced
about an ounce of methamphetamine a week, Gee said. Their output was
small compared with the meth coming into Hillsborough, he said.

Ninety percent or more of the drug in Hillsborough is created in
"super labs" in Mexico that produce a more refined variety called
"crystal" or "ice," he said.

"We're not seeing as much regular meth as we used to," he said. "We're
only seeing crystal ice."

Detective Angel Cruz said the same Mexican drug cartels that funnel
cocaine into the United States are now filling customers' requests for
methamphetamine.

Whatever is hot is what they supply, he said.

Suspects ranged from teens to grandfathers, Gee said. A few resorted
to stocking up on guns, and one mounted video cameras outside his home.

Some suspects also dealt in other drugs, Gee said. Deputies
confiscated 7.2 pounds of methamphetamine, 17.5 pounds of cocaine and
82.5 pounds of marijuana. They also seized $53,068 in cash, 25 guns
and a 1999 Harley Davidson Road King motorcycle.

Gee said that although most of the lab operations have been isolated
to houses in east Hillsborough, deputies have bought meth from dealers
in New Tampa and as far away as Clearwater. The problem is spreading,
he said, and investigators no longer consider it just a rural problem.

Operation Ice Breaker is the sheriff's largest effort to date
addressing street sales, he said. It originated as a response to
resident complaints and his conversations with other concerned elected
officials.

Ober promised to aggressively prosecute each case, but he said addicts
who are found not to be a danger to others would likely be offered
treatment options.

Ober's office will work in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney's Office
to prosecute major meth dealers. He said federal officials are in
talks with Mexican law enforcement about ways to curb the production
and transport of the drug to the United States. Gee said Ice Breaker
has had at least a short-term effect on undercover drug buys, which
have decreased in recent weeks.

"Everybody knows something's up," he said.