SALE OF COLD REMEDIES CLOSELY MONITORED

Many Stores Now Limit Quantities Customers Can Buy

The front line in the government's war against methamphetamine is being
drawn at cash registers across East Tennessee.

Because so many of the components needed to make the drug are available
from almost any grocery or department store, law enforcement officials have
asked retailers to keep track of what's being purchased and in what amount.

They are asking stores to limit sales of over-the-counter cold tablets
containing ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, the primary ingredients used in meth.

"Knoxville's a large metropolitan area, it has a lot of small towns
surrounding it, it has a large shopping base," said U.S. Attorney Russ
Dedrick, who oversees federal criminal prosecutions in the Eastern District
of Tennessee.

"The precursor agents (to meth) are readily available in the metro region.
Also, Knoxville is surrounded by rural counties, and (meth users) come in
to town and get the components. They buy them off the shelf or steal them,
then take those back and set up laboratories to manufacture meth."

In addition to cold medicines, addicts seek out a variety of chemicals like
alcohol, iodine and anhydrous ammonia to help produce meth.

Thefts of items used in making meth have increased over the past few
months, and the Knoxville Police Department has been investigating a series
of incidents in which people were siphoning anhydrous ammonia from an
industrial-size tank into small containers.

Retailers across the region are being sent posters and informational
pamphlets explaining the ingredients used in making meth and asking for
their cooperation in curing sales.

So far, the tactic seems to be working, officials say.

"We're getting good cooperation," said Anderson County Sheriff Bill White.
"Some of these merchants didn't know what to be on the lookout for, and
some are unaware that there is so much meth production."

A new policy went into effect last month at area Target stores, for
instance, that limits how much cold medicine can be sold, according to one
store manager. If a customer tries to buy more than three boxes, the cash
register prompts the cashier and the sale is terminated.

While most businesses are scrupulous and would never knowingly sell
meth-related items to addicts or producers, the federal government
successfully prosecuted a Coffee County storeowner in 2001 who sold meth
precursors to the wrong people.

According to federal records, Harry Javaherpour, former owner of the Par 4
Market in Manchester, was convicted of conspiracy to manufacture meth and
two counts of distributing pseudoephedrine.

"The evidence presented at trial showed that Mr. Javaherpour sold large
qualities of pseudoephedrine knowing that the pseudoephedrine would be used
to manufacture methamphetamine," records state. "The evidence also showed
that Mr. Javaherpour sold ... to methamphetamine addicts other items used
to make the drug, including matches and Heet gas line antifreeze."

Retailers who knowingly sell pseudoephedrine or other precursors can face
hefty fines, the forfeiture of all monies they earned from the transactions
and lengthy prison sentences, authorities said.

Javaherpour, for instance, was sentenced to more than 12AEx92 years in
federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. He also
forfeited more than $204,000 in proceeds from the sale of his business,
which was seized.

Other efforts to curb meth sales included a bill rejected by the Tennessee
Legislature in June that would have made it a misdemeanor crime to sell
more than three packages of cold tablets in one transaction. The bill
failed because of disagreements over a provision that would have allowed
local governments to set more restrictive limits.