''ICE'' AGAIN GETS ATTENTION OF POLICE

A potent form of methamphetamine, known as ``ice'' or ``crystal
meth,'' is back on the radar screens of state and federal officials.

This month, state police arrested seven people suspected of
trafficking ice, which users smoke for an intense high.

Three cars traveling along the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel on March
18 held seven suspected dealers and $14,000 worth of methamphetamine,
said state police spokesman Larry Hill.

Officials later searched homes and motels in Virginia Beach and
arrested three more people, Hill said.

State police and Drug Enforcement Administration officials would not
release details about the arrests or the investigation.

A meth ring has operated in Hampton Roads for about two years, Hill
said. Suppliers, he said, get the drugs from New York, New Jersey,
Maryland, and Washington.

Methamphetamine can cause violence, paranoia and severe depression
when the high wears off, said Dennis Bolum, who heads the Norfolk DEA
office. Although state and federal officials have stepped up
enforcement, most South Hampton Roads police departments reported
less of a problem.

In Suffolk, marijuana and cocaine remain drugs of choice, police
spokesman Mike Simpkins said.

``The euphoria that ice gives users makes people want to do it again
and again,'' Simpkins said, ``and that tends to scare a lot of
recreational marijuana users off.''

Virginia Beach police have arrested six people for possessing the
drug in the past six months, police spokesman Don Rimer said.

Small quantities have been recovered in Norfolk, police spokesman
Chris Amos said.

13 News contributed to this report.