SHERIFF'S SPOKESMAN SAYS HIGH-PROFILE DRUG RAID NO PUBLICITY STUNT

More than a week after a raid on a purported methamphetamine lab at a
mobile home in west Mobile County, authorities Thursday still had announced
no arrests.

Chad Tucker, a spokesman for the Mobile County Sheriff's Department, said
he expects charges to the filed soon, but did not give a time frame.

He said the high-profile raid - deputies summoned reporters to the scene
July 19 - "was not a desire for publicity, but was a strong attempt to
deter this activity from our area."

Methamphetamine, often manufactured in makeshift settings, is a highly
addictive drug that has seen a resurgence nationally in recent years.

Tucker said deputies were serving a warrant on the evening of July 18 at
the home on unrelated charges when they detected a chemical odor. They
reported it to their narcotics unit, which organized the raid the next
night with assistance from agents with the Drug Enforcement
Administration's office in Mobile.

The raid was believed to be the first of its kind locally in more than 10
years. Images of DEA contract workers in white, protective jump suits
loading and sealing large barrels made the evening news and the next day's
Mobile Register.

Sheriff Jack Tillman has been out of town this week and was unavailable for
comment Thursday, Tucker said. Local authorities anticipate that the U.S.
attorney's office will prosecute the case.

Probate court records show that Lois M. Gray owns the 24-foot by 60-foot
mobile home and the lot, which is located on Sossaman Drive, an unpaved
road off Howells Ferry Road.

Mike Kilpatrick, a neighbor, said Susan and Jamie Waldrop, Gray's daughter
and son-in-law, live in the home. The Register has been unable to reach
Gray or the others for comment.

"I know them well. They've been like family to us," Kilpatrick said.

Tillman stated at the scene that authorities conducting the raid found
methamphetamine and the chemicals used to make it, but he did not specify
the amounts. A source close to the investigation has told the Register that
the amounts recovered were relatively small.

"It doesn't matter to us how much was found," Tucker said. "What's
important is that it was a lab. Meth labs are by definition very dangerous,
because they contain toxic chemicals and explosives."

Meth - known on the street in various forms as "crystal meth," "speed,"
"crank," "glass" and "ice" - is a central nervous system stimulant that
creates feelings of alertness and elation. It can also cause paranoia,
hallucinations, increased heart rate, brain damage and even death.

Meth is "cooked" primarily in volatile home labs throughout the United
States.

Tucker said meth labs seem to be encroaching on the Mobile area from the
north and east.

"Other states, such as Arkansas, have seen as many as 500 meth lab
discoveries in a year," he said. "Recent lab discoveries from other states
show that this trend is moving south, specifically into South Alabama. For
example, there have been more than 50 discoveries in eastern Mississippi,
and there have also been recent discoveries in the Birmingham area."