GRANT REWARDS WAR ON METH

Federal agents in Southeast Tennessee busted more methamphetamine labs in
1999 than any other agents in the country, law enforcement officials say.

Indeed, the 60 meth labs raided last year in the district was triple the
number of the next closest federal district. And that number does not
include raids conducted solely by local law enforcement officers.

Numbers like that are why the Southeast Tennessee district could gain a $1
million federal grant to assist in fighting the area's meth war, said
Assistant U.S. Attorney Russ Dedrick of Knoxville.

Law enforcement agencies acknowledge there has been an explosion of meth
manufacturing and use in the past five years.

The next highest number of meth lab seizures in the United States was 20 in
a federal district in Georgia, Mr. Dedrick said.

"This pending meth grant is a recognition of the hard work, dedication and
cooperation of local, state and federal law enforcement to address a growing
problem," Mr. Dedrick said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregg Sullivan said Hamilton County Sheriff John
Cupp is the pending grant recipient. As such, he will keep tabs on the
allocation and expenditure of grant proceeds.

"There are 10 or 12 counties involved in the meth reduction effort in this
area," Sheriff Cupp said. "With all the mountains we have, it is easy to
hide methamphetamine labs. There have been many lab seizures in Sequatchie
and Grundy counties."

The grant would be used to train local and state officers, to pay overtime
to officers and for education programs, Mr. Sullivan said.

More than a dozen local officers have been trained for meth lab
certification by the Drug Enforcement Administration at Quantico, Va., Mr.
Sullivan said.

Mr. Sullivan said numerous city and county law enforcement departments
throughout the area are involved in the meth-reduction effort.

Ben Scott, resident agent in charge of the DEA office in Chattanooga, said
he would welcome a return to the 1980s when labs were large and chemicals
used in meth manufacturing were harder to come by.

"The labs were easier to locate because of their size," he said. "Now with
the use of household chemicals, the labs can be operated in remote areas,
barns, motel rooms, trailers or even in automobiles."