METH LAB BUST SIGN OF GROWING DRUG USE

Whether the discovery of an operating meth lab at a Merrill-ville
motel points to a growing trend of local methamphetamine production is
debatable.

Merrillville police say they don't see strong signs of a domestic
problem with the hazardous and highly volatile home-brewed drug.

The Lake County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Agency says the county
drug market is still in the clutches of cocaine and marijuana lust.

However, addiction counselors and state police -- who tallied two Lake
County meth lab busts in 2002 and at least one in 2001 -- believe meth
has been gaining popularity underground and is becoming more and more
popular in this pocket of the region.

State police said the Wednesday bust at the Merrillville Knights Inn
may be the first time police seized suspects as they were processing
the drug.

Merrillville Assistant Chief Joseph Petruch said officers got a tip
from a Scottsboro, Ala., man around 2 p.m. that a woman was
manufacturing the drug in room 105.

The tipster said she'd likely be driving a white Chrysler vehicle with
a paper license plate. Petruch said police found such a car outside a
hotel room marked "Do Not Disturb." They knocked on the door.

At first a woman's voice yelled out that she was having sex. Police
identified themselves and demanded entry all the while hearing
commotion and smelling a pungent chemical scent -- "the smell of
burning iodine ... we smelled them cooking it," Petruch said.

The woman opened, then slammed the door, giving police just enough of
a view to spy hot plates cooking on the floor and counter as well as a
man running toward the bathroom. Police used a hotel room card key to
gain entry.

They found a 21-year-old Tennessean man who allegedly admitted to
disposing of meth in the bathroom sink and bath tub, Petruch said.

His hands, Petruch said, bore the stripes of meth production -- the
bright orange glow of iodine.

Glass containers, tubing, coffee filters, a scale, plastic bags, and
two hot plates for processing the drug were found, along with four
different chemical agents and meth samples. A chemist at the Indiana
State Police post in Lowell is analyzing that evidence and disposing
of the hazardous waste.

The 34-year-old woman in whose name the hotel room was rented lives
alternately in Crown Point and Tennessee.

Charges are pending. The two remain in police custody and have not
been publicly identified.

Crack is still king

Patrolman Dave Barron, who's studied crime lab investigation and
helped secure the hotel scene, said the duo were using the "Red P"
production method -- for which red phosphorus is a main ingredient.

The "Nazi" method, using anhydrous ammonia is more popular in rural
areas, state police said.

Petruch said the large quantity of chemicals found in room 105 suggest
production was for sale, not personal use.

With the suspects' southern connection, Petruch said he believes the
lab was transient and not a symptom of a local meth plague.

Barron and Detective James Regan agreed.

"It (meth production) is a trend in eastern and southern Indiana,"
Regan said.

"In this area," Barron said, "Crack cocaine is the predominant drug of
sale."

As for the local infestation of meth labs, Don Sturn, director of
HIDTA, said "We said it was going to happen, we've been concerned
about it. Meth is all around the state. It hasn't come here because
gangs control the traffic areas and they traffic in in crack cocaine,
powder cocaine, and marijuana.

"But as more and more meth is produced in the state, someone will
bring it to Lake County," Sturn said.

It's a matter of economics, supply and demand.

"The supply line for meth is a lot shorter," Sturn said, explaining
that meth can be easily and inexpensively produced with drug store
ingredients. Imported ingredients aren't necessary, as with production
of other drugs.

"It's very easy to get the chemicals. It's a highly mobile process,"
he said.

He considered the Merrill-ville lab to be Lake County's first, as
actual processing was discovered there.

However, Indiana State Trooper Thomas Quinn said two Lake County sites
were investigated in 2002, where all the ingredients and hardware for
meth production were discovered. He considers those to be labs,
although production wasn't actually observed.

Crown Point Police Chief Pete Land said three years ago a man was
investigated after police discovered he possessed precursors to meth
production.

A Portage man was recently stopped and found with meth precursors. It
wasn't the first such find there; in August 2001, police raided a
mobile home and arrested three for making the drug in glass jars.

Meth production is highly dangerous because chemicals are mixed that
can cause an explosive reaction. Fires and death are not uncommon
links to meth labs, Quinn and Indiana State Police Maj. Mike Medler
said.

Medler said last year, more than 1,000 meth labs were found throughout
the state.

He said Lake County definitely shows increased activity.

Petruch said area police are now on alert for meth production and
residents should call police and report suspicious chemical smells or
activity.