OVER 400 ARREST MADE IN FEDERALLY COORDINATED METHAMPHETAMINE RAIDS

WASHINGTON - Facing growing criticism that the federal government is
not doing enough to combat methamphetamine use, the Justice Department
on Tuesday announced the results of a week-long raid of drug suppliers
and manufacturers and unveiled a Web site aimed at dissuading
teenagers from taking up the drug.

Operation Wildfire, billed as the first nationally coordinated
investigation to target methamphetamine, resulted in more than 400
arrest and the dismantling of 56 clandestine drug laboratories
nationwide, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. Police
and drug agents found 30 children in the makeshift labs when they were
raided, officials said.

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and DEA Administrator Karen P.
Tandy also announced the launch of www.justthinktwice.com, a
teen-oriented Wed site run by the DEA. The site features graphic
pictures of drug users' rotting teeth, before-and-after pictures of
methamphetamine users and other warnings about the perils of
methamphetamine abuse. "Some say it's really great, but it's really
your worst nightmare," the Web site says.

Tuesday's news conference marked the second time this month that the
Bush administration has sought to focus attention on the federal
government's efforts to contain methamphetamine trafficking and use.
Gonzales joined White House officials in Tennessee on Aug 18 to
announce the creation of another Web site, www.methresources.gov, and
a $16 million treatment program aimed at those who abuse the drug.

Tandy said Tuesday that the latest methamphetamine arrest show the
federal government's "commitment to extinguishing this plague."

"Meth has spread like wildfire across the United States," Tandy said.
"It has burned out communities, scorched childhood's and charred once
happy and productive lives beyond recognition."

The announcements follow escalating demands from local and state
officials for more federal help in targeting methamphetamine, a
stimulant particularly prevalent in poorer and rural communities with
few resources to combat it. Methamphetamine poses a significant safety
threat to law enforcement officials, who often encounter dangerous
home laboratories stocked with hazardous ingredients ranging from
battery acid to acetone.

Federal and local statistics indicate the drug's popularity is moving
east from its roots in the West and is more frequently being used in
major cities from Seattle to Minneapolis to New York. A recent survey
by the National Association of Counties found that almost nine of
every 10 counties had seen increases in meth-related arrest and that
nearly 60 percent ranked methamphetamine as their biggest problem.

Joe Dunn, the group's associate legislative director, said there is
"growing awareness" within the federal government that methamphetamine
is a serious problem but that localities need more federal money and
assistance.

"National leadership is critically important to this," Dunn said.
"Them coming together and acknowledging that this is a major drug
problem is a good step forward. but it's only a first step."

More than 200 police departments were involved in the effort.