METH MAKERS STEAL AMMONIA

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 being targeted as popularity and
production of meth soars. The trend has been dangerous - improper handling
of the chemicals has caused sickness and forced evacuations of nearby
communities.

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

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. 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.