COUNTY MAINTAINS METH-LAB RAIDS

According to national drug-control figures, more suspected methamphetamine
labs were raided last year in Jefferson County than in most states.

Depending on whether police count multiple labs found on the same property,
Jefferson County's narcotics task force busted between about 80 and more
than 100 suspected drug labs last year. But with at least 12 labs raided
and 30 suspected meth makers arrested last week alone, Sheriff Oliver
"Glenn" Boyer says he expects there to be more meth busts than ever, in 2002.

Boyer said that the recent spate of lab raids had a lot to do with an
improved narcotics task force, which recently was expanded to include more
officers from the county's municipal police forces, and even more to do
with help from Jefferson County residents. He said that the area was
becoming more knowledgeable about how meth was made and how dangerous the
drug could be.

"Some of this year's labs were taken down because of tips from neighbors;
some of the labs were taken down because of tips from family members of
suspects; and some of them were taken down because retailers have started
telling us when there's suspicious people buying meth ingredients in their
stores," Boyer said. "The general public understands this is a serious
problem, and they want to help."

Police said several of the suspected labs raided this week might have been
part of a loose ring of meth manufacturers, called cooks, that may have
shared ingredients and other supplies. But investigators said they believe
that the biggest meth raid in Jefferson County history, which occurred on
Wednesday of last week, was unrelated to other, smaller operations.

An informant led narcotics investigators to a four-lab compound in the
25000 block of Buck Creek Road, outside of Festus. Police estimated that,
in recent weeks, the compound had produced at least 25 pounds of
methamphetamine, which could have a street value of more than $100,000.

Investigators said this raid had yielded enough meth oil to make about
three pounds of the drug, more than the total supply of all the other labs
raided this week. Police made six arrests and seized one handgun and more
than 20 needles, allegedly loaded with meth.

Sgt. John Dolan, head of the county's narcotics task force, said the
compound was the biggest and most advanced drug lab ever discovered in
Jefferson County.

Dolan said suspects had used expensive lab equipment and ingredients
purchased throughout the St. Louis area to make meth in labs found in a
house, a shed and two trailers on the wooded property.

"What was unique about this property was the degree of sophistication,"
Dolan said. "We found drugs at every stage of the manufacturing process.
This was clearly an around-the-clock operation."

Dolan said that he believed that most, if not all, of the meth produced at
the labs raided last week would have been sold to Jefferson County users.
Because meth addiction is so strong in the county, he said, last week's
arrests are unlikely to solve the problem.

"I think we've slowed down the meth trade in Jefferson County for a little
while, but it's only a temporary fix to a long-term problem," Dolan said.

Boyer said that aggressive enforcement could decrease meth production in
the area but that enforcement was unlikely to stamp out meth use in
Jefferson County. He said that it was too easy to make the drug and that
there were too many isolated areas south and west of the county.

"The downside to what we're doing is that I think we may be forcing many of
these meth cookers to find more rural and remote communities," Boyer said.
"Even though this is good for Jefferson County, it's scary for me to think
how much meth is made in not-very-far-away counties that can't afford to
fight the drug."

Fighting meth can be an expensive job. Because meth is made from flammable
and caustic materials under poor conditions, by cookers that are often high
on the drug, labs tend to be highly toxic and dangerous sites. As a result,
police need expensive training and gear that many forces can't afford.

"Even though we are receiving some state and federal funding, that doesn't
offset the costs very much," Boyer said. "Fighting meth is extremely
expensive, and it's becoming a bigger and bigger draw on our resources."

Criminal charges will not be filed against any suspects arrested this week
until a state crime lab confirms that the material seized was meth. The
testing can take months. Authorities said they hoped to pursue federal drug
charges against the suspects.

Police said the property on Buck Creek Road was owned by Anthony Wayne
Polette, 37.