DRESSED FOR A METH HUNT

MADISONVILLE - People in law enforcement face danger every day, but a new
drug has increased the risks greatly.

Methamphetamine, a drug less than a decade old by most estimates, is
created in a lab using materials that can be volatile on their own, but
become deadly when mixed together.

The Monroe County Metro Narcotics Unit, comprised of officers from the
Monroe County Sheriff's Office and Madisonville and Sweetwater Police
Departments, is starting to see more and more of these labs locally, and
until recently, they had to wait for the Drug Enforcement Agency to clean
up and shut these labs down.

"There are federal and OSHA guidelines you have to follow when dismantling
a meth lab," said Narcotics Unit Agent Andy Bebb of the Sweetwater Police
Department. "And if you aren't certified to follow these guidelines, you
can't even go into a meth lab."

A recent DEA sponsored Meth Lab Certification course has put both Bebb and
fellow narcotics agent Matt Conley of the Madisonville Police Department at
the forefront of the dangerous task of meth lab dismantling.

"It was the first time for the course in Tennessee," Bebb said, "and there
were 44 officers from across the state certified.

The DEA task force will supply us with all the equipment we'll need, at no
cost, and we'll be able to take these places down much quicker."

Methamphetamine can be made using everything from alcohol to sulfuric acid,
and is considered one of the most dangerous drugs to be around.

"One thing you have to take into account," Conley said, "is that a meth lab
is considered a hazardous waste site. So, even though we can now dismantle
one, the DEA will still have to handle disposal of the stuff." Despite the
knowledge a meth lab can blow up if a person handles the chemicals wrong,
the drug use is growing. Bebb said McMinn County uncovered 40 labs last
year and 25 counties in the southeast Tennessee area discovered an average
of two labs a day.

"We've found a few around here," Bebb said, "and all those counties are
very close to us. Unfortunately, it's probably only a matter of time before
they start popping up around here on a regular basis."

Officers have to be re-certified each year, and Agent Scott Wilson said
more local officers would be attending the course.

"The course has expanded our knowledge of this drug and how it works,"
Wilson said.

"The more we know about it, the better we can fight it."

Both Gregg Breeden and Eddie Byrum, police chiefs for Madisonville and
Sweetwater respectively, say area merchants have been helpful in fighting
the meth trade.

"You can buy the ingredients for meth at just about any store," Breeden said.

"But they're such odd and varied ingredients, it raises suspicion if you
buy them all at once."

"We've given merchants posters showing what to be on the look out for,"
Byrum said.

"You really can't buy the ingredients for meth for any other purpose."

Anyone with information on suspected meth labs can reach the narcotics unit
at 442-5002.