N.C. LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS SEEK SKILLS TO COMBAT METH LABS

More than 150 law enforcement officers from across the state are gathering
here this week to gain skills that can help them crack down on the rising
number of methamphetamine labs in North Carolina.

So far this year, officials in the state have raided 173 meth labs, up from
98 in 2002. They raided 34 labs in 2001, said Van Shaw, assistant special
agent in charge of the State Bureau of Investigation.

Methamphetamine, or crystal meth, is a highly addictive stimulant that can
be made with household chemicals.

More than 50 percent of the illegal drug labs seized in the state before
October were in Western North Carolina. Of those, 45 of 71 were in the 13
mountain counties located in the northwestern section of the state,
according to the State Bureau of Investigation.

"It's easier to manufacture now. You can make it on your stove with readily
available chemicals," said Shaw, coordinator of the SBI's Clandestine
Laboratory Research Unit.

At least 74 North Carolina children this year have been found in homes with
meth labs, and many of them have tested positive for exposure to the drug.

Shaw and state Attorney General Roy Cooper are pushing for tougher laws
against people who operate methamphetamine labs, especially in households
with children.

The primary goal this week of the federally funded conference, sponsored by
the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance, is to familiarize officers with the
methods of investigating and dismantling the labs, and to promote officer
safety.

"Raiding a meth lab is like a SWAT team raid in a toxic waste dump," said
Chief Agent Dr. John Duncan of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and
Dangerous Drugs Control.

Duncan, one of the instructors of the three-day seminar, said a meth lab
raid is "probably the most dangerous thing a law enforcement officer can
do, shy of disarming a bomb."

In addition to facing possibly violent and armed offenders, the dangers of
a raid include potential explosions, fires and exposure to poisonous gases
that can cause serious immediate or long-term injuries, Duncan said.

The manufacturing process of the drug produces 5 pounds of hazardous waste
per every pound of the drug made. Byproducts include hydrogen chloride
gases, which are deadly if inhaled in substantial doses, officials said.

The problem of meth is also an environmental concern, as the toxic waste
materials are often disposed of in wooded or rural areas, or dumped into
rivers and streams.

In August, U.S. Forest Service agents found a methamphetamine lab at a
campsite in Nantahala National Forest. In a criminal complaint filed in
federal court, agents said they saw two people making the drug in a tent
near a lake and a well-traveled road. They had a short shotgun with them.
One agent said he saw the people throwing something into the lake.

"It's like having a dirty bomb in your back yard," said Thomas Keith,
district attorney for Forsyth County.

Shaw said one of the goals of the program is to give officers the
investigative training necessary to identify potential labs.