DRUG TASK FORCE HARD AT WORK

ELMORE COUNTY -- For the past 12 years, members of the Central Alabama Drug
Task Force have been quietly working behind the scenes to keep drugs off
the streets in Autauga, Elmore and Chilton counties.

Five agents and their commander, Scot Ward, work around the clock with
support from local police and sheriff's departments to serve search
warrants, conduct undercover surveillance and take down organized crime.
Last year the group confiscated nearly $10 million in illegal narcotics in
the three counties.

"We are a control factor," Ward said. "We are not going to do away with
drug crimes, but they (drug dealers) know we are here, and they know they
will go to jail in this circuit."

Ward, who has been on the task force since its creation, said while
marijuana and crack cocaine are common drugs, methamphetamine use is on the
rise.

Last year, the group found more than 30 meth labs, Ward said. The most
recent was in February in Chilton County.

The increase may be due to a new "cold cut" method of making meth, Ward said.

The process doesn't require volatile ether, and is easier to make.

"All the ingredients can be found at Wal-Mart," Ward said. "And the problem
is that the labs are so portable. We call them box labs, because you can
put them in a box and take off."

Ward said in the past decade all three counties have seen growth, and drug
trafficking has increased simply because there are more people. However,
the percentage of drugs seized has remained constant.

Randall Houston, district attorney in the 19th district, said the task
force has allowed prosecutors to make stronger cases against drug dealers.

"Drug cases were difficult to prosecute because it was one person's word
against another," said Houston, who was one of the founders of the task force.

"Now we have video tapes and audio tapes that give us a lot stronger case."

The group is funded through a combination of federal grants and matching
funds from police and sheriff's departments in the three counties.