CRACK CASES SKYROCKETING

Value Of Drugs Seized Doubled In Past Year

Area drug addicts and Drug Strike Force investigators were busy in 2004,
according to the unit's annual statistical report.

The street value of drugs seized in 2004 nearly doubled the value seized in
2003.

Crack cocaine investigations are on the rise in Buchanan County and
methamphetamine lab activity is steadily falling.

"We had a lot of good luck with informants in 2004," said Capt. Mike
Donaldson, acting coordinator of the Drug Strike Force.

"So we're catching a lot of crack buys. The problem already is there. The
numbers just reflect the way we are able to address it."

Information coming in from anonymous tips and informants last year helped
the Strike Force prepare the majority of its state and federal cases, Mr.
Donaldson said.

Crack purchases skyrocketed from 57 grams in 2003 to 186 grams in 2004. The
amount of crack the Strike Force seized jumped from 14.7 ounces in 2003 to
46.88 ounces in 2004.

Arrests for crack possession went from 18 to 40 in a year and arrests for
crack sales increased from 11 in 2003 to 20 in 2004.

Investigations into meth labs, however, were down in 2004.

There were 24 fewer meth labs found in 2004 than in 2003, Mr. Donaldson
said. He noted the increased amount of arrests involving possession of meth
precursors, or ingredients used to manufacture meth, has contributed to
fewer active labs in the county.

"Based on what we know from tips and interviews with people we've caught,
they don't purchase drugs or run the labs in Buchanan County anymore," he said.

During a Drug Strike Force Board meeting last week, Sheriff Mike Strong
said meth is still coming into the county, but it's being made elsewhere.

"Meth labs are going down, and if you look at the numbers from the past
three years, that's not because we're not finding more, that's because
we've had a lot more reports of it being over in Kansas, over the border,"
said Mr. Strong, former Strike Force coordinator.

He now serves as the project director for the grant that helps fund unit
operations. In 2002, investigators uncovered nearly 80 meth labs in the
county, about 60 labs in 2003 and 2004 yielded less than 40 labs.

"The word's getting around about our aggressive enforcement," Mr. Strong
said. "What we are reducing are the number of hazardous waste sites in the
county."

While that may sound like good news, Mr. Donaldson said he would like to
reduce the amount that is imported into the county. The amount of meth
seized rose slightly from about 12 pounds in 2003 to nearly 16 pounds in 2004.

"Meth, as addictive as it is, people who need that will find a way to get
it," he said.

Arrests for meth possession dropped from 48 to 40 in the past year. Arrests
for meth sales also were lower in 2004 with 40 arrests, while 2003 yielded
58 arrests. While the overall amount of drugs investigators seized in 2004
is similar to what was seized in 2003, the street value of those substances
greatly increased in 2004.

In 2003, a street value of nearly $526,000 was seized while 2004 yielded a
little more than $906,000. Beyond the increased amounts of seized meth and
crack in 2004, Mr. Donaldson attributed part of the increase to the
fluctuating prices of meth precursors.

The drug unit started out 2005 with two employee vacancies. No one has been
selected yet to permanently fill the position of commander and the unit is
short one investigator.

Still, Mr. Donaldson said workloads were shifted, and investigators are
adapting.

"Investigations are not being hurt by the vacancies," he said.

Mr. Donaldson was hesitant to make any predictions for 2005. However, he
said he is concerned over a type of meth that is being sold in the area. On
the nation's coasts, he explained, dealers are selling a more refined
version, called ice.

In Buchanan County, he said users are beginning to purchase what they think
is ice, but they really are being sold an imposter.

"My one concern about more people that switch to that (ice), I see that as
a big potential for violence," he said. "It's still methamphetamine, it's
still illegal, it's just not as potent and they're ripping people off with it."