METHAMPHETAMINE LABS ON THE RISE

Lawmen are trying to learn more about methamphetamines and the people
who produce them.

Crystal meth, also known as "crank" and "ice," is a synthetic
amphetamine similar to cocaine. The drug, which has been around since
the 1960s, is gaining popularity in North Carolina.

"It has been a growing threat," said Dave Gaddis, assistant special
agent in charge of Drug Enforcement Administration operations in the
state.

"From 2000 to 2001 we have seen a several hundred percent increase. It
went from 10 or so labs to, like, 30 labs."

Lawmen have made several busts in the Cape Fear region, mostly in
Harnett and Sampson counties. Harnett lawmen uncovered three labs in
the past three years. This year, lawmen in Sampson County have found
four labs. Other counties in the Cape Fear region have reported
increases in the number of meth dealers and users.

Meth is a white, odorless powder. Users tend to experience an increase
in physical activity and decreased appetite.

In the past, the drug was mostly smuggled from Arizona and California,
authorities said. Today the drug is mostly manufactured in the
Midwest, and production is gradually moving east.

The drug costs $400 to $3,000 per ounce, according to the DEA's Web
site.

Narcotics agents say they know the labs are out there, but finding
them can be difficult.

Local lawmen have received special training to fight the trend. They
are also asking distributors of anhydrous ammonia - a main ingredient
in crystal meth - to be aware of suspicious people trying to buy or
even steal the chemical. Anhydrous ammonia, a farm fertilizer, is
generally sold in feed stores.

"We're enhancing our training and working with the (State Bureau of
Investigation) in an effort to head off this threat," Gaddis said. "It
hasn't hit us in the volumes that it's struck Tennessee. But it has
the potential to explode."

The number of meth lab arrests in Tennessee has nearly tripled in the
past three years, according to the DEA Web site. Labs increased from
137 in 1999 to 365 in 2001.

Every day, at least one meth lab is either found or seized somewhere
in the state, according to the site.

Cheap and convenient

Authorities said meth cooks can set up labs for a few hundred dollars.
Materials to make the drug include common household products such as
paint thinner, allergy medicine and lye. Instructions for making the
drug can be found on the Internet.

"You can literally go into Wal-Mart and buy most of the stuff you
need," Erwin Police Chief Tom Chandler said.

In three years, lawmen have found three meth labs in Erwin. The DEA
uncovered one lab several years ago. This year, Erwin police found two
labs.

Chandler said officers had little experience in dealing with meth
operations until they discovered a lab in April. Police found the lab
at a home on 11th Street while searching the house for other drugs.

During the raid, two police officers were overcome by anhydrous
ammonia fumes and hospitalized. Residents within a three-block radius
were evacuated.

Exposure to anhydrous ammonia can cause blindness, lung damage or
death, according to the National Agricultural Safety Database Web site.

"We got some experience, and that helped us tremendously in this last
one," Chandler said.

Police training

On Nov. 9, police discovered a lab on Holmes Street.

Erwin officers completed training held by the DEA. Officers learned
what chemicals to look for and how to guard themselves if they uncover
a lab. The chemicals used to make crystal meth are highly explosive.
Turning on a light switch could trigger an explosion, authorities said.

"If we come in contact with a lab, we don't touch it," said Capt. W.E.
Jones of the Sampson County Sheriff's Office.

Local agencies must call the SBI and DEA to clear the labs. Agents
must be certified to dismantle a lab, and that costs $60,000 or more,
authorities said. The federal government pays for the removal,
Chandler said.

"That kind of money could wipe out our budget," he
said.

Four labs were discovered in Sampson County this year. The most recent
meth bust was Nov. 12 on Leeds Chapel Church Road outside Dunn.
Deputies found a four-page recipe for a baseball-size amount of
crystal meth.

Jones said the department has begun targeting meth labs. Deputies are
instructed to follow reports of strong ammonia odors. A pungent odor
is a key identifier of meth labs, authorities say. It often smells
like sewage or cat urine.

Lawmen in Cumberland, Hoke and Moore counties said they have ongoing
investigations into meth activity. Investigators say exposing the labs
takes time and resources that many rural departments do not have.

"We know that they exist in Hoke County, but to locate them requires
an investigatory effort," said Maj. Thomas Carlton of the Hoke County
Sheriff's Office. "We do not have the personnel or the time to expend."

Lane Carter, chief deputy of the Moore County Sheriff's Office, said
his deputies arrest meth dealers almost daily.

"It's easy to process, cheap to make and it sells high," Carter said.
"It used to be shipped in, and now we're seeing it being manufactured
across the state."

Crystal meth not only poses a social threat, Gaddis said, it has
environmental ramifications as well. For every pound of meth that is
cooked, five pounds of contaminating waste is produced.

"It could be buried, dumped on the side of the road or in streams and
lakes," Gaddis said. "Just use your imagination, as they do."

Meth production in North Carolina is not contained in one region,
Gaddis said.

"It's peppered throughout the state," he said. "We've found it in
rural mountain towns to upscale neighborhoods outside of cities. No
community is immune."

Rural concentration

DEA officials have found a higher concentration of meth users in rural
areas, although authorities can't say why.

Lt. John Smith of the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office said meth
cooks can set up makeshift labs almost anywhere.

Meth investigations can take longer than cocaine or marijuana stings
because of the dangerous chemicals, Smith said. Authorities try not to
raid the labs while cooks are in production because the chemicals are
highly combustible.

Officers in Cumberland have been trained to spot labs by looking for a
combination of household chemicals that could indicate production of
crystal meth.

"We want them to be more aware," Smith said. "They should know what to
look for."