TIPS LEAD TO METH LABS, POT PLANTS

DECATUR - Meigs County authorities, Decatur police, TBI and DEA agents and
prosecutors with the Ninth Judicial District Drug Task Force agents
conducted a "knock and talk" operation throughout the county Wednesday that
is expected to result in a flurry of Grand Jury indictments in the near
future. The operation yielded six suspected meth labs, three suspected
marijuana growing operations and small amounts of drugs, drug paraphernalia
and weapons, authorities said.

Also involved in the operation were members of the Southeast Tennessee
Methamphetamine Task Force and hazardous materials officials, according to
investigators.

Meigs County Sheriff Walter Hickman said while no arrests were made during
the operation, dozens of people were interviewed by authorities, suspected
meth lab operations were located and destroyed and evidence was collected
for use in prosecution of the cases investigated.

Much of the information used in the operation came in the form of tips from
the public, Hickman said.

"A lot of information came from calls to the drug hot line at the District
Attorney's office and Drug Task Force office," Hickman said. "We've been
taking their information on people who have possibly been manufacturing
meth." Hickman said authorities have been accumulating information for the
past three to five months through several sources, including the DTF,
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the Sheriff's Department and the Decatur
Police Department.

"Then we went a step further with a lot of the people we've raided in the
past where we received information they might be back in operation,"
Hickman said. "With the cooperation of TBI Agent Jama Walker, we developed
a list in the last few weeks on people we had some information on." Hickman
said officers and agents divided into five teams to began canvassing the
county.

"Each team had a local officer, a DEA agent, a TBI agent, a certified meth
officer, and five Southeast Tennessee Methamphetamine Task Force trucks,
one for each team," Hickman said. Chattanooga hazardous materials firm
Fergeson-Harbour also sent two teams to Meigs County for cleanup of
dangerous chemicals, he said.

"We had our lists and each team was assigned people to seek out," Hickman
said. "We weren't armed with search warrants but we did what's called a
'knock and talk.' We identified ourselves to the people and we told them we
had what we felt was reliable information that they were manufacturing
methamphetamine."

Hickman said most residents consented to officers taking a look around
their property. "Also at more than one place, the odor of meth production
was very strong and identifiable by the trained officers," Hickman said.
"During the operation there were a couple of places where they refused to
allow officers to search, so we obtained search warrants for residences."
Hickman said officers and agents found six suspected meth labs, five of
those in Meigs County and one in Roane County.

"We found two indoor marijuana growing operations, too," he said, "one of
those was in Hamilton County near the county line, and we found one outdoor
with about 130 plants growing along with a suspected meth lab." All the
evidence collected has been turned over to the District Attorney's office,
he said.

"At this point, preliminary estimates are that we'll be indicting 12
different individuals on numerous charges," Hickman said. Hickman said each
team had one member who will prosecute the indicted individuals indicated
in the investigation.

An assistant district attorney is working on getting the indictments ready
for the next session of the Grand Jury, according to Hickman. The next
session of the Grand Jury will convene July 26.

"Some of the people involved have prior methamphetamine-related
convictions," he said.

"Since this wasn't a covert operation, I feel like we had that many more
(labs) thrown in the river or thrown in the burn pile. In a couple of
instances, we think they might have been cooking recently." Hickman said he
was proud of the officers and proud of the community for taking a stand.

"Everything went real smooth, and we still have some targeted persons and
residences to investigate," he said. "We're also consistently monitoring
these places."

Hickman said he wanted Meigs County residents to know how much their help
is appreciated.

"For all the people who have called in with tips and are afraid nothing is
being done: About 75 percent of this started from tips from public,"
Hickman said. "The public is more aware and more willing to help than I've
ever seen on this kind of operation. You've got to applaud them for it.
We've had some people call but they're afraid to give their name. We want
them to know we wouldn't allow anyone to learn their identity for
information in this type of investigation."

Hickman said two juveniles were found at a residence where suspected meth
components were found. The state Department of Children's Services took
custody of those children for their protection.

DHS and ambulance personnel were on standby if needed. About 45 officers
were involved in the operation, and emergency medical personnel and
Department of Human Services officials were on standby throughout the
operation, Hickman said.