LAW ENFORCEMENT MAY HAVE TO CHANGE APPROACH TO STEM METH TIDE

An Oklahoma law restricting the sale of cold medicines used in making
methamphetamine could make the state a prime target for drug smugglers,
officials at a narcotics conference said Wednesday. The law, passed by the
Legislature this spring, bans the sale of cold medicines with
pseudoephedrine in supermarkets and convenience stores. Instead, customers
must present a photo ID to a pharmacist and sign for the medicine.

Authorities say the law has been effective in reducing the number of meth
labs in the state. Now the concern is that Mexican drug cartels may step in
to fill the void, said John Coonce, a field program specialist for the
National Drug Intelligence Center.

"The problem is in the (Mexican) groups trying to fill the demand for the
drug," said Coonce. "There are an awful lot of highways in Oklahoma that
lead right to the Mexican border."

Coonce says counties in western Oklahoma are seeing an increase in crystal
meth, a more pure form of methamphetamine, often manufactured in Mexico.

Members of the Association of Oklahoma Narcotic Enforcers gathered in
Oklahoma City this week to discuss the changing meth culture and attend
training workshops on a variety of issues including undercover operations
and surveillance.

Meth lab seizures were down by 124 during the first six months of the year,
even though the law didn't take effect until June. The numbers for July
haven't been released yet.

Law enforcement officials in Texas and Kansas are concerned that meth cooks
may scour communities near the state lines for decongestants such as Sudafed
and Claritin-D.

In May, four Oklahoma residents were arrested in Harper County, Kansas,
after buying about 20 boxes of cold medicine.

Police also found a map that outlined every Wal-Mart in the Wichita
metropolitan area and $4,700 in their vehicle.

"I did not ever promise that by doing this that we would do away with meth,"
said Lonnie Wright, director of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and
Dangerous Drugs. "But we are reducing the number of neglected children and
the waste from methamphetamine labs."

The respite in meth lab seizures is giving law enforcement time to train and
focus resources on breaking down the complex organizations that traffic the
drug into the state.

"This has allowed law enforcement to take a breather," Wright said. "For a
decade they've been overwhelmed with meth labs and seizures."

Now law enforcement can begin gathering intelligence, infiltrating cells and
breaking up an organization, instead of sending addicts to jail, Wright
said.

"We hit an organization, we displace everybody who is attached to it,"
Wright said.

Wright said his agency has been limited in pursuing Mexican drug cartel
cells in Oklahoma because the agency lacks Hispanic officers and agents who
can speak Spanish.

"We're actively recruiting people," Wright said. "We're doing everything we
can as fast as we can possibly do it."