POLICE TEAM WILL FOCUS ON METH COOKERS

Washington County police agencies are beefing up an interagency drug team
to chase, arrest and lock up the county's most prolific methamphetamine makers.

The Westside Interagency Narcotics team will assign four detectives to
investigate meth cases only, starting Jan. 1. The team will be one of the
state's few groups of detectives devoted to slowing the surging number of
methamphetamine labs.

The decision comes months after the county's police chiefs started an
18-member team to clean up the toxic labs that make meth.

"Methamphetamines are clearly the biggest criminal problem we have right
now in the county," said Sheriff Rob Gordon.

Besides the dangers presented by the drug itself, methamphetamine drives
its users to commit additional crimes, including fraud, identity theft and
assault, police say.

Meth's popularity in Washington County has skyrocketed as users and dealers
find easier, cheaper ways to make the stimulant, a toxic concoction that
can include cold medicine, lithium from batteries and parts of road flares.
Police have found labs in living rooms, hotel rooms and back seats of cars.

The county's drug detectives had busted 52 suspected labs through last
week, compared with 58 in all of 2001. Five years ago, the drug team
reported finding two labs.

Until now, the Westside Interagency Narcotics team has investigated dealers
of all drugs, whether methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine or marijuana.

But the number of meth investigations grew overwhelming during the past
five years, said Sgt. Rich Preim, a member of the Beaverton Police
Department and the drug team's supervisor.

Detectives spent most of their time chasing down small labs -- those that
produce a few ounces for use by a limited group. That left them little time
for the in-depth investigations required to find and break up the larger
labs that supply the big-time dealers.

Superlabs, often part of a sophisticated crime organization, yield 10
pounds a batch. One ounce of finished meth sells for about $1,000 on the
street.

"We know there are larger ones throughout the county that we are missing,"
Preim said. " . . . I thought we would have come up with more information
on them."

Detectives know the labs exist because they have found dump sites of
chemicals and garbage typical of a large lab. But the sites leave few clues
that lead them to the meth makers.

By focusing on one problem, police hope the new four-person meth team will
have the time to find and watch the labs and gather evidence to arrest the
bad guys. Preim wouldn't say how they would catch the big drug-makers
because he didn't want to tip them off.

"It'd be great if we put them in prison for a long time," Gordon said.

The team will include at least three sheriff's deputies and a half-time
officer each from the Tigard and Beaverton police departments.

"Is it needed?" said Sgt. Craig Durbin, who manages the Oregon State
Police's drug enforcement section. "Yes. In a big way. I applaud the agency
for stepping up and saying, 'We have a problem.' "

The additions will give Washington County's drug team 10 detectives and one
supervisor. Officials at the Hillsboro Police Department are discussing
contributing an additional officer on the meth team.

Police and district attorneys say meth users often are tied to fraud and
identity theft rings. To keep up with the criminals, Gordon also assigned
three fraud detectives to work closely with the new meth team.

"I don't think they will go a single day without exchanging some pretty key
information," the sheriff said.