CRANKING OUT METH

Drug Labs Multiply in Columbia and Boone County

The countryside of rural Boone County is an ideal place to watch the
sunset, to work the land, to raise children and to cook meth.

The accessibility to basic ingredients and the privacy of the setting have
made rural Boone County perfect for meth production, and manufacturing of
the potent psychostimulant is on the rise, said Ken Kreigh of the Boone
County Drug Enforcement Unit.

Missouri ranks third in the country for meth production, behind California
and Nebraska. In 2001, Missouri was the nation's leader in meth-lab busts
with more than 1,500.

While meth makes up only 10 percent of illegal narcotics found in the
county, Kreigh said the number of meth labs will continue to grow as the
narcotic gains popularity. In 2002, Kreigh said, the Boone County Sheriff's
Department uncovered about 16 meth labs.

HISTORY OF HARD DRUGS

"From 1997 back, we never saw meth in this town," Kreigh said. "Columbia
has been a cocaine town for years. But we looked at meth and decided we
don't want to see it in Boone County. It's a high priority for us."

Within Columbia's city limits, the problem is also on the rise, said
Columbia Police Sgt. Bryan Piester of the Narcotics Unit.

"Within the last year, there has definitely been an increase," Piester
said. "We've probably uncovered seven or eight meth labs within the city
limits this year, compared to one or two in previous years."

Methamphetamine, commonly referred to as speed, crank, ice and crystal, is
a powerfully addictive stimulant that affects the central nervous system.
Its effects are similar to those of cocaine, and it is often referred to as
"the poor man's cocaine," Kreigh said. It is a white, crystalline, odorless
powder that causes increased activity and a sense of euphoria in its users.
After the initial rush of the narcotic, however, the sense of well-being is
replaced with a state of high agitation that can often turn into violence.

The stimulant was originally produced in Nazi Germany, Kreigh said, and
used by German soldiers to stay awake for three to four days at a time.

Most meth users are men and women between the ages of 24 and 35 from rural
areas, Kreigh said. Unlike cocaine, meth can be ingested orally, nasally
and intravenously. Some users also smoke the drug. According to a recent
research report by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, sniffing is the
most popular use of meth in the Midwest.

Meth is a Schedule I controlled substance, which Kreigh said "is the worst
rating for a narcotic, and means it has no medicinal value." It can be
manufactured fairly easily and cheaply from accessible resources. Ephedrine
is the basic ingredient and can be found in over-the-counter cold
medications and diet pills. Other necessary ingredients include: lithium
metal, found in lithium batteries; anhydrous ammonia, a liquid fertilizer
used on farms; table salt; hydrochloric acid; and a solvent, such as ether.
Kreigh said $500 of raw materials can produce $2,500 of finished product.

An Increasing Problem

Although the Missouri revised statutes limit the sale of over-the-counter
methamphetamine precursor drugs to three packages at a time, officials said
the regulations are often circumvented by theft and smuggling.

"A lot of people are getting the products to make meth from Columbia,"
Piester said. "Some officers in the patrol division have done programs
where they tell all outlets to be really perceptive and warn them that the
potential for shoplifting for these items is high. In smaller communities
farther north, there are only one or two outlets and they can clamp down on
it. A lot of out-of-towners get caught for shoplifting."

Shoplifting isn't the only stealing users are willing to do in exchange for
the finished product, Kreigh said.

"There's a lot of theft involved," he said. "Anhydrous ammonia, the liquid
fertilizer, is transported to farms in 1,000-gallon tanks. Sometimes a kid
whose father is a farmer might steal anhydrous for someone who's cooking."

Pure ephedrine is not regulated in the country of Mexico and is often
smuggled across the border by larger methamphetamine operations, Kreigh
said. Also, meth producers will often trade finished meth for raw materials
needed to cook it, Kreigh said.

"With someone who knows how to cook and can do it right, there's a lot of
collaboration," he said. "They won't waste their time gathering
ingredients. That's one of the big differences between cocaine and meth -
cocaine dealers have to smuggle the drug up from Mexico and they'll only
accept money for it. But with meth, if we get our hands on the ingredients,
we could cook up a batch right here in Missouri."

Although the meth problem in Boone County is not as pronounced as in some
of its more rural counterparts, the trend has been growing.

On Jan. 23, three Columbia residents were arrested when officers found a
working meth lab in their mobile home. Less than a week earlier, a Boone
County man was arrested in connection with a meth lab being run out of an
abandoned trailer.

Two Columbia residents were arrested Jan. 13 on suspicion of using their
car as a meth lab.

In some cases, the law enforcement officials aren't the first officials to
get wind of a meth lab. On Dec. 4, firefighters extinguished a blaze in an
abandoned shack that was being used for meth production. The lab was
believed to be the cause of the blaze.

Kreigh said the burning meth lab demonstrates the volatility and danger of
the chemicals used during meth production.

"The chemicals involved and their fumes can be extremely dangerous," he
said. "Anhydrous ammonia is (kept at) 40 below zero. If it's being
transported in the wrong kind of container and if it's hot outside, it
could explode. The hydrogen chloride gas - the chemical cloud that comes
off of that - is extremely damaging to the lungs. But the meth cook is
usually an addict and doesn't think about those things when he's cooking."

More Danger From Meth

Within the city limits of Columbia, Piester said the dangers involved
become elevated.

"In an apartment complex or where houses are near each other we take all
the precautions necessary and call the fire department to assist with the
cleanup," he said. "During meth production, there is an occasion when
hydrogen gas is made which is very flammable. We have to act pretty quickly
on every complaint."

Kreigh said the meth-lab fire is an example of a meth operation that
probably would have otherwise gone undetected in the vast open space of
rural Boone County.

"A lot of the chemicals used are really smelly," Kreigh said. "If someone
were cooking meth in their apartment, their neighbor would probably think
something was going on and call the police. If we were to cook meth, we
would get our stuff together, drive on down to the Missouri River on some
country road, and go back in the woods about 20 feet. We would be virtually
undetectable."

Within the city limits of Columbia, however, the odorous chemicals are much
more detectable, Piester said.

"Anhydrous ammonia gives off a pretty distinctive smell," he said. "And
when houses are close together, neighbors are more likely to report
suspicious smells and activity."

Piester said the police collaborate on meth busts with the Missouri Highway
Patrol and the Mid-Missouri Unified Strike Team and Narcotics Group, which
also assists in collecting evidence in Boone, Callaway, Cole, Cooper and
Moniteau counties.

The Boone County Sheriff's Department is one of 35 Missouri law enforcement
agencies granted money in 2001 to fight meth for two years. The Sheriff's
Department's $79,984 of the total $3.1 million granted went to fund one
investigator position specifically hired to fight methamphetamine for two
years. Detective Jeffrey Baker, who has been with the department for about
four years, has held the position since it was created. Although Kreigh
said having the extra manpower was helpful, the grant ended Dec. 31. Kreigh
said funds will be shifted to keep Baker working in the department.

Solving the Problem

In Boone County, the fight against meth involves a network of
investigators, federal agents, drug analysts and informants, Kreigh said.

"We detect meth operations primarily by good intelligence - good informants
and good undercover work," Kreigh said. "Our informants are the most
valuable thing we've got. Some of them work out of a sense of community
service; others work for money. It's not unusual for one drug organization
to point the finger at their competition. Police will take their
competition out, and those guys will widen their market."

Often, investigators will follow a user to the supplier, Kreigh said.

"If you're not getting the bigger people you're not really solving the
problem," he said. "Strategically, that's what we strive to do."

- - Missourian staff writer Reed Fischer contributed to this report.