SHERIFF'S OFFICE: METH LABS COMING BACK TO UPSTATE

Meth Lab Bust -- Omen Of Future

According to the Anderson County Sheriff's Office, recent arrests for
methamphetamine production and trafficking are the future of Anderson
County, not the past.

"Methamphetamine is our No. 1 drug problem in the Upstate," said Mike
Miller, director of the Anderson-Oconee Regional Forensics
Laboratory. "Sixty-nine percent of my case load is methamphetamine
.. We are the final East Coast version of every other state in the country."

In his 11th year as a law enforcement officer, Mr. Miller said he has
been at 572 clandestine meth lab busts, predominantly in Anderson and
Oconee counties. Across the state, he said, Anderson ranks No. 1 in
the number of meth labs seized.

In 2006 and 2005, he said, Anderson was the No. 1 county in the state
for meth labs seized. Prior to that, Anderson and Greenville were the
top two counties in the state for meth labs seized

So far this year, that trend is continuing.

According to his department's statistics, clandestine meth laboratory
seizures peaked in 2003 at 81 in Anderson and Oconee counties. Law
enforcement stepped up its education efforts concerning the drug.
Later, in 2005 and 2006, legislation in South Carolina not only
restructured the crime and its penalties, but also later controlled
the sale and distribution of chemicals and supplies used in making meth.

And since 2003, the number of meth labs seized has fallen below that
high mark set in 2003.

But Mr. Miller said the number of meth lab busts so far this year is
higher than it was this time last year. A recent arrest is the 10th
in Anderson and Oconee counties this year.

"In 2006, we didn't reach 10 until June," he said. " I expect (the
number of meth lab seizures) to be the same rate as last year, but it
could potentially be higher because we've already seen more meth
coming through the door."

On May 20, [Name redacted], was arrested at her home at [address
redacted], when the Sheriff's Office received a complaint that she
was cooking meth in her home. According to the sheriff's report,
[Name redacted] is on probation for manufacturing meth.

Agents found 2 grams of suspected meth and the chemicals and
equipment used to make it throughout the house, the report said. In
the report, officers said [Name redacted] admitted she had a small
amount of the drug in her bedroom, and that while she had cooked some
the night before "there wasn't anything currently cooking in the residence."

[Name redacted] was charged with manufacturing meth, and possession
with intent to distribute, the report said.

A seeming decrease in clandestine lab seizures over the last two
years is misleading, Mr. Miller said. Meth users aren't going away,
they were just getting their drugs from somewhere else, he said.
According to him, Mexican drug cartels have been flooding the Upstate
with meth. Now that they have an addicted base, he said, they are
cutting down the purity of their product to create a new need for the
drug and increasing the price.

"So, lab seizures aren't the daily constant headache they used to
be," he said. "But now you've got a situation where the user base is
up. And they are buying more of it, but it's not as pure as they are
used to, so they need it more frequently. It's not going to be long
before it flips over again. We've seen a spike already this year."

In an arrest on May 16, the Anderson County Sheriff's Department
seized 72 pounds of marijuana and 11.5 grams of meth, along with
trafficking materials and several firearms when they executed a
search warrant at the home of [Name redacted]. [Name redacted] was
charged with trafficking marijuana and methamphetamine, receiving
stolen property and possession of a firearm during the commission of
a violent crime.

Mr. Miller said he also anticipates an increase in violent crimes,
violent attacks in the detention center and personal crimes such as
car break-ins and burglary, as addicts try to find the money to pay
for their habit.

Any increase in drug-related crime, the sheriff said, would mean more
work, but not more pay.

"It will obviously mean more work and more man hours for our
narcotics unit," Sheriff David Crenshaw said.

However, because of a freeze on overtime, officers will not be
receiving more money. Instead, he said, officers would receive comp
time should their duties require them to work beyond the 40-hour
maximum, he said.

That won't, however, impact his office's response, he said.

"We will react as swiftly and as harshly as possible. We will
continue to attack the war on drugs." Sheriff Crenshaw said. "We'll
be doing the same thing we always have, very diligently, to arrest
people who are manufacturing and trafficking drugs, and keep the
drugs off the street and out of the hands of our children."

[Sidebar]

Number of Clandestine Meth Labs Seized in Anderson and Oconee counties

2001 - 9
2002 - 44
2003 - 81
2004 - 70
2005 - 49
2006 - 49

Source: Anderson-Oconee Regional Forensics Laboratory