STATE NO. 3 IN SEIZURE OF METH LABS BUT LAW OFFICERS SAY PRODUCTION LOW.

The name implies one thing. But the reality is often
another.

Federal officials say Kansas ranks third in the nation in the number
of methamphetamine laboratories seized in the state. That ranking,
however, appears misleading, law enforcement officials say.

The moniker "laboratory" implies well-educated, white-coated personnel
hunkered over expensive, specialized equipment conducting heady work
to produce the end product.

But in Kansas, the illicit labs of criminals who produce the illegal
drug methamphetamine is typically low tech and low rent.

So small are some meth labs that they can be stored in a box, said
Jeff Brandau, special agent of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. He
is the KBI's point man for narcotics investigations in eastern Kansas.

So little space is needed to manufacture methamphetamine that labs
have been found in places like motel rooms and mobile homes.

Brandau doesn't downplay the meth problem in Kansas, but he thinks
less than half of the drug used here comes from in-state labs.

According to Brandau, the number of meth labs seized in Kansas rose
from seven in 1995 to 71 in 1996; 99 in 1997; 189 in 1998; and 511
last year. As of May 10, law enforcement officials this year had made
265 meth lab seizures, including 17 in Shawnee County.

Most of the state's meth, the KBI agent said, appears to be
transported from Mexico. Brandau said the KBI has investigated gangs
that reportedly bring 100 pounds of meth to Kansas from Mexico every
week.

"I think that means there's a significant meth problem in this state,"
he said.

That opinion appears to be borne out by statistics from Kansas Alcohol
and Drug Abuse Services, which reported a 359 percent increase in
methamphetamine primary problem admissions from fiscal 1994 to fiscal
1997.

Topeka police Lt. John Sams doesn't downplay the increased popularity
of meth.

Sams, who supervises drug investigations for the Topeka department,
says methamphetamine appears to be replacing crack cocaine as the
"drug of choice" for users locally.

But Sams says the high number of meth lab seizures in Kansas doesn't
necessarily put the state near the top of the nation in terms of meth
usage.

'We're nowhere near Number 3 in the nation in meth consumption," he
said.

Sams pointed out that most meth labs seized in Kansas make the drug in
quantities that are very small compared to amounts produced in other
states.

"We have a lot of labs, but they're not making quantity," Sams said.
"Our state has a lot of the kitchen-variety labs, as opposed to the
commercial variety."

Brandau agreed that while "huge" meth labs operate in the deserts of
Mexico, California, Arizona and Utah, most seized in Kansas are "box
labs," where all items used to make the drug can be stored in one box.

"Labs in California will often make 50 to 100 pounds at a time," said
a narcotics officer for the Shawnee County Sheriff's Department.
"Here, a lab is more likely to put out between 1 ounce and 1 pound."

The narcotics officer said most Kansas meth makers cook only enough of
the drug to meet the needs of themselves and their friends.

Brandau agreed that it was unlikely Kansans were making enough of the
drug to transport and market it in other states.

Meth is produced in clandestine labs by "cooks" who usually have no
scientific background. Though there are many recipes for cooking the
drug, the sheriff's narcotics officer said, meth makers in this area
seem to favor a method that uses the chemical anhydrous ammonia.

"All the ingredients you need are readily available at your corner
store except for the anhydrous ammonia, and you can go out to a farm
and buy or steal that," he said.

Such items include cold or allergy tablets, mason jars, acetone,
lithium batteries, isopropyl or rubbing alcohol, toluene, ether, lye
or drain cleaner, rubber hoses or tubing, and coffee filters.

Meth labs often smell of ether or anhydrous ammonia. Authorities say
meth makers sometimes set up labs in abandoned houses in rural areas,
hoping to avoid being noticed.

While officials 10 years ago said most meth users were low-income
white people, the sheriff's narcotics officer said use of the drug now
crosses all barriers of race, sex, age and economic power.

"We've caught meth users from in their teens to age 65," he said.
"They're white collar, blue collar, male, female, black, white,
Hispanic, it doesn't matter."

Authorities say meth makers often discard the waste by-products of
their chemical reactions without thinking of possible dangers to the
environment.

About once every two weeks, the sheriff's narcotics officer said,
deputies find a place where waste from the production of meth has been
dumped in a creek or on a farmer's land.

Authorities ask that anyone with information about sales or production
of methamphetamine to call the Topeka Police Department at 368-9464,
Shawnee County Sheriff's Department at 368-2200 or KBI at
(800)-KS-CRIME (572-7463).