METH-MAKING CLASS GETS COPS' ATTENTION

Police Learn Latest Techniques In Drug's Manufacture

EVERETT - Men in protective suits huddled around a smoking jar in the
middle of the tarmac at Paine Field.

One, two and finally three from the group raised their thumbs in the
direction of the people watching from outside the "hot" zone.

Wednesday morning's science project was cooking. On the menu - methamphetamine.

Members of the Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force and a forensic
chemist from the Washington State Patrol transformed a laundry list
of household items into a batch of meth in less than two hours.

"This is bucket chemistry," task force Lt. John Flood said.

Four new State Patrol chemists and a couple of task force detectives watched.

The hands-on training helps them recognize what's going on in the
labs. The experience also can prove useful when narcotics detectives
testify in court as experts on the production of meth, Flood said.

It's a felony crime to cook meth. Police can do it for training
purposes, Flood said. Investigators at the task force along with
state chemists usually whip up meth about once a year.

"The crook cooking is always tweaking the recipe," Flood said. "We
want to stay current on the manufacturing of methamphetamine."

A few years ago, the task force noticed a drop in the theft of
anhydrous ammonia, an ingredient used to make the drug. They began
finding some unusual ingredients at operating meth labs, including
fertilizer and dry ice.

Detectives hypothesized that the crooks were making their own ammonia.

State forensic chemists proved them right, replicating the process in the lab.

"Nationally, they said it wasn't possible," State Patrol forensic
chemist David Northrop said. "We did our demo and were able to say,
'Yes, it really does work.'"

Armed with that information, the task force was able to more readily
identify the new method and watch the sale of items used in the new process.

U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., suited up and joined in Wednesday's
experiment. He said he wanted a better idea of how easy it is to make the drug.

Larsen said he believes a crackdown on the sale of over-the-counter
cold medicine used to produce the drug is helping curb the problem in
Washington.

He also said more has to be done to battle the infiltration of imported meth.

"There's a growing recognition at the federal level that meth is an
international problem," he said.

In the county, the number of clandestine labs has continued to drop
every year since 2003, task force records show.

A majority of the meth now in Snohomish County is high-quality "ice,"
produced by international drug traffickers believed to be out of
Mexico, Flood said.

"Local labs haven't gone away. They're still a danger to the
community," Flood said. "If we stopped looking at local labs, I think
they'd crop up again."