RCMP SEEK HELP DISMANTLING CLANDESTINE DRUG LABS

Hiring Specialists To Dump Chemicals Seized In Raids

The RCMP is turning to private-sector companies to cope with a dramatic
spike in the number of underground drug labs set up to feed British
Columbia's growing hunger for ecstasy and methamphetamine.

The clandestine laboratories, as they are known, are often found in the
bathrooms, basements and garages of residential homes, police say. They are
stocked with a lethal mix of chemicals including acetone, ephedrine,
methanol, rubbing alcohol, paint thinner and red phosphorus -- the active
ingredient in road flares.

Last week, the force issued a request looking for "highly qualified and
fully licensed [hazard materials] specialists." It is the first step toward
establishing a contract with a company to handle and dispose of chemicals
seized from the labs, police said.

"It's something we're really running into more and more, and it's something
we've got to get a handle on," said Sergeant Mike Harding, head of the
RCMP's drug operations support unit in B.C.

"We don't really know how much is out there. We know how much is on the
street, but where it's coming from? We don't really know."

The labs are often uncovered after fires break out or other accidents
occur. In the last six months, Sgt. Harding said, such accidents have been
occurring with alarming frequency.

Sergeant Doug Culver, the RCMP's national clandestine laboratory
co-ordinator, said B.C. accounts for 50% of makeshift labs discovered in
Canada. He said the national number is growing -- from virtually none five
years ago to more than 40 uncovered last year.

"I honestly don't know [why the number is increasing so fast],'' said Sgt.
Culver, who worked 22 years in B.C. with the Vancouver and Victoria drug
units. "The only thing we can figure is that the growth of clandestine
laboratories in Canada is mirroring what happened in the United States
about 10 years ago.''

A decade ago, he said, there was a small network of drug labs operating in
California. The number of operations increased exponentially and began
spreading to the east. Last year, U.S. authorities discovered 80,000
chemical drug-making operations, he said. In Washington state -- which
borders B.C. -- that number grew from about 50 in 1997, to 1,470 last year.

"We're starting to see increases in labs in Alberta, Ontario and Quebec,''
Sgt. Culver said.

Many labs are run independently, but police are uncovering links to biker
gangs such as the Hell's Angels and Asian organized crime gangs.

"There's some horrendous profits to be made in this,'' he said. "It's a
crime of greed.''

Sgt. Harding also said half of the drug labs found are now producing
ecstasy, a drug that until a few years ago was only made in the Netherlands
and parts of Asia.

"It's almost unheard of until very recently that ecstasy is being produced
in North America," he said.

Shutting down such operations, when they are found, also becomes the
responsibility of several government departments, including housing
officials and the health department.

One Vancouver house was put under 24-hour fire watch last year after police
discovered red phosphorous, a flammable ingredient used to make speed,
inside the house. It was later ordered demolished. In Windsor, last year, a
lab was discovered in a top-floor apartment of a high-rise building.

There are also indications in most labs that chemicals have been flushed
down toilets or dumped down drains, possibly contaminating water supplies.