CRYSTAL METH A GROWING CONCERN

PINK HILL - An Aug. 6 narcotics raid in which nine people in Pink Hill were
arrested is highlighting a growing problem in the town.

Two of the nine arrested were charged with felony possession of
methamphetamines, the drug commonly called crystal meth.

Crystal meth is the most widespread narcotic in Pink Hill and Lenoir County
right now, surpassing even the availability of crack cocaine and marijuana,
Police Chief Kenny Barrow said.

"There is a drug problem everywhere," Barrow said. "Right now, our biggest
problem is crystal meth. It's eating up every county and every state right
now."

The drug has gained attention in the last year because of its increased
availability statewide. Crystal meth is relatively easy to make using
over-the-counter drugs in homemade labs.

Statewide, the number of meth lab busts is growing.

Barrow said officers have no information to suggest that there are labs in
Pink Hill or Lenoir County, but nearby counties have discovered labs and
arrested those involved.

"Thank God, there haven't been labs in Pink Hill," Barrow said. "Our
intelligence shows that it's coming from sources out of the county into the
county."

Lenoir County Sheriff Billy Smith said labs have been discovered and shut
down in Duplin, Johnston and Pitt counties in recent months.

Officials are most concerned about the health risks of those unknowingly
exposed to fumes released while the drug is being made. Children who live
in homes where crystal meth is produced are most threatened by the gasses
released from cooking pseudo-amphetamines.

There is also growing concern that law enforcement officials could be
harmed while attempting to apprehend those making the drug or putting out
fires that originate in labs.

"We just finished seminars last week where the State Bureau of
Investigation talked to law enforcement about the physical dangers of
crystal meth," Smith said.

Barrow said the problems associated with crystal meth - and other narcotics
- - increase daily. Smith said the county doesn't have the manpower or the
funding to control the county's growing drug problem.

Until things change, he said, law enforcement has to depend on apprehending
dealers one at a time and hope to find enough information in smaller raids
to arrest others.

Three women and one man remain in Lenoir County Jail on felony drug charges
after a court appearance last Monday.

There is still a warrant for the arrest of one man connected with the drug
busts. Police declined to identify the suspect, but believe he's hiding
somewhere in the county.

"He can run and hide, but he can't run and hide forever," Barrow said.