PERTH COUNTY A HOTBED FOR ILLEGAL METH LABS, OPP SAYS

Perth County has become a hotbed of illegal methamphetamine labs after OPP
drug officers uncovered a sixth one in less than a year in the area. OPP
officers from the drug unit and Perth County seized 465 grams of
methamphetamine after a fire broke out in a garage at a 6576 Line 55 home
in Elma on Tuesday.

The drugs were worth about $37,000, OPP said.

A 37-year-old Elma man was charged with possession of a controlled
substance for the purpose of trafficking and possession of a controlled
substance.

OPP say in the last five years they've seen an increase in the number of
labs producing methamphetamine, also known as crystal, crank, speed or glass.

"We're seizing it more and more," said Det. Sgt. Brad Durfy, who works in
London OPP's drug unit.

Durfy said when he started working in the drug unit six years ago, meth was
a rare find. Now police commonly seize it in traffic stops and search
warrants, he said.

Earlier this year, OPP purchased a large truck outfitted with equipment
that officers use to dismantle meth labs, such as lab suits and a
decontamination chamber.

In less than a year, drug officers have uncovered six labs all in the same
geographical area in Perth County.

"That's our hot spot for methamphetamine at this time," Durfy said.

It's unclear why Perth County has a high number of the labs, Durfy said,
but the toxic smell released when the drug is produced is easily ventilated
in rural areas with few nearby neighbours.

Meth is made using chemicals that are readily available in hardware or farm
stores, such as sulphuric acid, lithium and anhydrous ammonia, Durfy said.

Recently in Huron County, a tank containing 1,900 kilograms of anhydrous
ammonia was stolen from Hensall Co-op in Londesborough.

Of the 300 different meth recipes, the one most use requires simple devices
like a five-gallon pail, some hoses and propane and water tanks.

Sophisticated operations use beakers and Bunsen burners but Durfy said
those are more common in the U.S.

The labs are dangerous because of the chemicals used. Durfy said one in
four labs in the U.S. blows up.

The drug is extremely addictive and can be smoked using a pipe, injected or
taken orally in the form of a pill or capsule.

On the street, one gram of the drug -- which comes in the form of a
yellowish powder, hard chunk or liquid -- is sold for $80 to $100.

Meth was used in the First World War as an upper and painkiller for
soldiers, Durfy said.