FARM THEFTS FUEL DRUG LABS

Makers of the illegal drug methamphetamine are targeting farm fields in the
rural Midwest as a source for the chemicals they need to run their
processing labs.

Anhydrous ammonia, a nitrogen-based fertilizer, can be used as an ingredient
in the drug.

Law enforcement officials in South Dakota and Iowa say the Midwest's growing
problem with meth manufacturing has spawned a trend of ammonia thefts from
farmers' fields, where trailers carrying the chemical often are parked
overnight.

"We're aware of an increased risk of theft and trying to provide some public
education," said Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead.

Milstead said his office has not yet been told of major ammonia thefts in
the county, but there have been several suspicious incidents reported in
other parts of the state:

Tony Jones, safety and environmental coordinator for South Dakota Wheat
Growers, said he had a report of about 40 missing gallons of anhydrous
ammonia last week.

"We don't know if it was a theft or if it was just a leak," Jones said.

Marshall County Sheriff Dale Elsen said he recently received a report of
five gallons of stolen anhydrous ammonia from the Newark area in northeast
South Dakota.

The chemical is being stolen in high quantities from Mitchell-area farmers,
but many of them do not realize it, said Rob Mahaffey, James Valley Drug
Task Force officer.

In Minnehaha County, Darin Vettern, manager of a co-op, said someone raided
the tanks at his facility, but it's hard to know exactly how much was taken.

"The tip-off was a hose hanging from a tank, so that led us to look at the
rest of the tanks," he said.

Karla Tolley, agronomy manager for The Farmer's Elevator Co. in Madison,
increased security at her plant after learning of the problem.

She hasn't had a theft, but doesn't want to take any chances.

"They only need a small amount of product to make a large amount of meth,"
Tolley said. "They'll modify small propane tanks, like those used in
barbecue grills."

Most trailers holding the chemical in farm fields aren't equipped with a
gauge or measuring device, making theft difficult to detect.

Methamphetamine, also known as crank, speed or crystal-meth, is a cheap drug
concocted from common chemicals.

Three methamphetamine labs have been uncovered in the state so far this
year: Two were in Tripp, and one was near Bridgewater. That equals the
number of labs found in the state in all of 1999.

Police say meth cooks are drawn to rural areas where the smell of the
production and movement of materials is less likely to be detected.

So far, there have been about 100 felony meth-related arrests in the state
this year. That compares with 300 in 1999.

Sens. Tom Daschle and Tim Johnson have asked the federal Drug Enforcement
Agency for $8 million to combat such labs nationwide.

In 1999, South Dakota and Iowa were among five states targeted as the
Midwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area by the U.S. Justice Department,
which spent almost $12 million to combat the growing problem of meth
production here.

Deputies also have warned rural fire departments about the corrosive dangers
of ammonia they may be exposed to while investigating illegal labs or theft
sites.

"If you get it on your skin, it will burn severely," said Tolley.

But even a small amount of ammonia can be harmful.

Mark Grinhaug, sheriff in Howard County, in north central Iowa, knows of one
ammonia thief who found himself standing inside a cloud of the corrosive gas
when his jerry-rigged transfer valves failed.

"He lost body parts," Grinhaug said.

Last year, Grinhaug's department received five reports of stolen ammonia. In
four of the incidents, the valves were cut, and the quantity of the loss is
not known. But he readily admits that many losses go unnoticed.

"The biggest threat is in the spring, when farmers leave the trailers in the
field overnight," he said. "They're easy pickings."

In Winneshiek County, in northeast Iowa, Chief Deputy Lee Bohr said he has
seen several thefts in the past two years. Each time, the theft was
discovered when the valves and hoses were damaged.

"The last time there was no loss. The suspect must have been scared off,"
Bohr said. "Obviously, they're stealing it to manufacture meth. There's no
other legitimate reason."

Any meth lab is treated as a hazardous-materials scene, Milstead said.

"The labs could explode because of the dangerous chemicals and are getting
more portable," he said. "We could encounter a haz-mat scene in a bathroom."