114 ARE INDICTED ON 'METH' CHARGES

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The illegal drug methamphetamine has led to indictments
of more than 114 people through two separate police operations on the
Cumberland Plateau and in southeast Tennessee, federal officials and local
authorities said yesterday.

At a news conference yesterday in Cookeville, officials announced the end
to phase one of "Operation Stop Gap," a 13-month effort against "meth."
There, 14 people were indicted, including two market owners accused of
selling large quantities of cold medicines used to make the drug, said
Harry Sommers, of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

Meanwhile, authorities in Chattanooga and Winchester, Tenn., announced
yesterday that more than 100 people in 18 southeast Tennessee counties have
been arrested and face federal drug charges as part of two anti-meth
initiatives dubbed "All Methed Up" East and West.

"We believe that we have had a significant impact. We've put a lot of
pressure on the providers" of the drug "and those who sell the chemicals
needed to make it," Sommers said.

Among those indicted in the Cookeville operation were brothers Johnny
Vinson of Nashville and Edward Vinson of Sparta, Tenn. The men were using
their convenience store, the Hot Spot on Highway 84, to sell large
quantities of pseudoephedrine to meth cooks, authorities said.

Pseudoephedrine is a decongestant found in many over-the-counter cold
remedies. These tablets can be transformed into methamphetamine through a
series of chemical reactions, which can be performed using the heat from a
kitchen stove.

"We certainly hope that by these arrests that people will think long and
hard before they decide to sell to anyone for the purpose of making meth.
They can get some significant jail time, and under the current federal
system there is no parole," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Bob Watson.

All but six of the 14 individuals named in the Cookeville indictments were
arrested yesterday. The remaining six were expected to have been picked up
by today. The Vinson brothers were in federal custody Nashville yesterday,
officials said, and could not be reached for comment.

Methamphetamine is a stimulant made in homemade "labs" using a variety of
commonly available products such as brake cleaner and Coleman lantern fuel.
The process is dangerous, often creating hazardous fumes that are highly
flammable. It has become the drug of choice in many areas of the Cumberland
Plateau and adjacent counties because its high is said to be as good as
cocaine's, but at a cheaper price.

The names of the 100-plus people arrested in "All Methed Up" were not
immediately available from authorities yesterday.

Their identities and the charges they face will be released as they are
arrested and appear before federal magistrates, according to a statement
from federal prosecutors in Knoxville.

Operation Stop Gap has brought about 216 meth arrests since its beginning
in August 2000, in addition to yesterday's 14 announced indictments.

White County Sheriff Guy Goff yesterday compared the meth problem to a
football season that never ends.

"We've won one game, but we're getting ready for the next one. It's a tough
problem that's not going to go away."

Staff Writer Carly Harrington contributed to this story.