BASIN METH MAKERS ADD DEADLY CANISTER TO ILLEGAL EQUIPMENT

MOSES LAKE -- The people who cook methamphetamine have come up with a new,
dangerous piece of equipment.

They've started using the 5-gallon canisters in which soft drinks are
distributed to restaurants and other businesses, law enforcement officials say.

Meth makers more commonly use propane, scuba or other types of tanks to
store the anhydrous ammonia used to cook meth.

But Grant County Chief Deputy Mark Mann said deputies recently found
several soft drink canisters -- about three feet high and 10 inches across
- -- at the site of a meth lab.

"It's so darn dangerous," Mann said. "It's a brand-new twist we didn't want
to see."

The problem is that liquid anhydrous ammonia pressurizes to a much higher
level than what the soft drink canisters can hold. Anyone who came across a
canister and decided to open it up could have a nasty surprise, he said.

"We're fairly sure it would be fatal," Mann said, noting that the contents
would burst out directly into the face. "And if a canister failed, who
knows who would be around?"

Anhydrous ammonia can be detected when it is stored in other types of tanks
because it immediately causes a blue-green corrosion on a tank's brass
fittings.

No such reaction occurs with the soft drink canisters, which have a
stainless steel body and a cast aluminum top.

Several days ago, when deputies were tipped off about a chemical smell near
an abandoned farmhouse in the 16000 block of Road 2 Northeast, they
reported finding a fully operational meth lab in the basement.

Deputies arrested Raymond P. Adams, 39, Moses Lake, for alleged possession
with intent to manufacture meth, second-degree burglary and second-degree
criminal trespass. Deputies found a half-filled soft drink canister behind
the farmhouse.

Mann said the canisters are easy to obtain and urged restaurant owners,
retailers and wholesalers not to leave them outside their businesses.

He also said anyone who comes across a canister should leave it alone and
contact police.