FARM TANKS ARE EASY PICKINGS FOR METH MAKERS

TOLEDO, Ohio - A siphoning hose found on the ground next to a tank
filled with farm fertilizer was the first clue.

Drug thieves had tapped into the tank at a fertilizer plant to steal
anhydrous ammonia -- a volatile ingredient that can be used to produce
methamphetamine.

Fertilizer plants and farms nationwide are increasingly being targeted
as popularity and production of meth soars. The trend has been
dangerous -- improper handling of the chemicals has caused sickness in
some people and forced evacuations of nearby communities.

States including Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas have been
fighting ammonia thieves since 1998. Now thefts have spread throughout
the South and Midwest, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration.

"How many times we've been hit I don't know," said Greg Lowe, who
monitors losses at County Springs Farmers Co-Op in Sandusky County in
north-central Ohio.

Anhydrous ammonia, which costs about $245 a ton, is close to pure
nitrogen and is sprayed on corn fields to increase growth. Drug makers
mix it with common chemicals such as starter fluid, paint thinner,
batteries and cold medicine to produce methamphetamine.

"It's the cheap man's cocaine," said Mark Murtha, an agent for the
DEA.

According to a DEA survey, the number of people abusing the drug --
also known as speed, ice, crystal or crank -- has tripled over five
years to 9.4 million in 1999.

Meth labs have been mushrooming. Last year, the state with the highest
number of meth lab seizures was California, with 1,232, the DEA said.

"I don't think there's a week last year where we didn't find one, get
ready to find one or hear about one," said Richard Cerniglia, the DEA
agent in charge in Cincinnati.

Federal and local agents in Ohio found 114 labs last year, up from 23
the year before.

The state has 234 sites registered to store anhydrous ammonia. The
Ohio Department of Agriculture inspects them all to make sure the
chemicals are stored properly. Many times the thefts go undetected
because no more than 10 pounds are taken.

"There's not a lot you can do," said Rick Dunbar, who manages the Edon
Farmers Co-Op in northwest Ohio's Williams County. "We put chains and
padlocks on the tanks and the next time, they just cut the chain.

"The thefts of the chemical, which causes a freezing burn and can peel
skin or melt the cornea of an eye, have also taken their toll on
nearby communities.

In April, all 230 residents in Old Monroe, Mo., were forced from their
homes when thieves let ammonia leak out of a storage tank.

An apparently botched theft at a farm supply store in Utica, Ky., in
September forced 50 people from their homes and caused several crashes
on a highway when drivers inhaled the fumes.

And police officers have been seriously burned while tracking down
propane tanks and milk jugs filled with ammonia.

John Randall, a sheriff's deputy in Vernon County, Mo., had a cooler
full of ammonia thrown at him while chasing a suspect in April.

"We were in a dead run and this vapor cloud just came at us," Randall
said. "It was hard to breathe. We were both sick and throwing up.

"Despite the risks from the chemicals, farmers are having trouble
protecting their stashes from determined thieves.

One company is working on new locks for the tanks, but some farmers
fear stronger locks will just encourage criminals to damage their
tanks. Chemists at Iowa State University are trying to find an
additive that could be mixed into the ammonia and make it useless for
meth addicts.