INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE TO FOCUS ON METH TRADE

The Partnership Will Combat Fast-Growing Drug Threat

OXFORD - Law enforcement officials say the formation of an interagency team
to battle methamphetamine trafficking in North Mississippi is an idea whose
time has come.

In the past six years, seizures of "meth" labs has gone from zero to more
than 100 annually in North Mississippi.

"These labs are dangerous," said Jim Greenlee, U.S. Attorney for the
Northern District of Mississippi. "The drugs they manufacture are dangerous."

The North Mississippi Methamphetamine Enforcement Team was formally begun
Thursday, using a $250,000 grant from the White House Office on National
Drug Control Policy, along with funding and officers contributed by
participating agencies.

Police departments from Tupelo, Oxford and Southaven are partnering with
the Panola County Sheriff's Office, the Mississippi Highway Patrol, the
Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics and the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration to form the task force.

"These were the initial local, state and federal agencies that showed they
wanted to sign on since the inception," said Greenlee, whose office will
coordinate the task force.

Methamphetamine manufacture, trafficking and use constitute a growing
problem in North Mississippi. Beyond the inherent physical and mental risks
to its users, the potential for explosions in meth's manufacturing process
also threatens innocent bystanders.

Jim Craig, special agent in charge of DEA's New Orleans Division, which
covers Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas and Alabama, told Thursday of a
large meth lab discovered in a hotel room in Tunica last year.

"If it had blown up," he said, "it would have taken the top three floors of
that hotel."

Officials say their shared focus on meth will help with other drug
enforcement, too.

"Once you find out about meth trafficking, you learn about other drug
dealings," Greenlee said. "You get to where you can go back up the line
from the street level dealer to bigger dealers and distributors."

Tupelo Police Chief Ron Smith endorsed the cooperative effort.

"We'll be sharing technology, information and manpower from the Mississippi
River to the Alabama line," he said. "This will be a solid team working to
make North Mississippi safer than it is today."