DEA HELP SOUGHT IN BUCHANAN COUNTY

So persistent is the methamphetamine problem in northwest Missouri that a
federal Drug Enforcement Administration agent has been assigned temporarily
to St. Joseph.

The agent, who has been in St. Joseph for about three weeks, will decide
upon the completion of his assignment in 60 to 90 days whether the DEA
should open a permanent office there.

"Meth is our biggest problem right now," said Mike Strong, coordinator of
the Buchanan County Drug Strike Force. "It's going through the ceiling."

Buchanan County law enforcement officials discovered and dismantled 26
methamphetamine labs in 2002. Last year, that number exceeded 80.

"We could more than justify the need for a DEA agent, and I fully expect
the DEA to open an office here," Strong said.

The development comes about in large part because of U.S. Rep. Sam Graves,
a Tarkio Republican. He long has pushed for a federal agent to be stationed
in his district and provided the DEA with information that illustrated the
methamphetamine problem.

"As confident as I am about the seriousness of the drug problem in
northwest Missouri," Graves said this week at a news conference, "that's
how confident I am that we're going to get that permanent agent."

Chris Donesa, chief of congressional affairs for the agency, said Tuesday
that the agent would assess the situation and determine the magnitude of
the problem. Only then will the DEA decide if an agent should be
permanently located in Buchanan County.

"We want to make sure we understand what we're looking at," Donesa said.

What the agent will find, Strong said, is that the Buchanan County Drug
Strike Force's 13-person team isn't big enough. The agent will notice that
some methamphetamine lab operators cross state lines when the law comes
calling, making convictions more difficult, he said.

"A lot of our cases go over to Kansas to avoid problems here," Strong said.
"They go up north or into other jurisdictions.

"It would be advantageous to be affiliated with a federal agency so we
won't have to deal with these issues."

Strong thinks access to federal crime-fighting resources - phone taps, for
example - could prove beneficial in Buchanan County and elsewhere.

Regardless of what the DEA agent finds, Graves secured a $300,000 federal
grant that will enable the Buchanan County Drug Strike Force to hire two
additional people for a three-year period.

"One of our priorities has been to get some more people," Strong said.

"What we lack is manpower. This will help."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.