DRUG'S POPULARITY PRODUCES SPIKE IN THEFT OF DANGEROUS FERTILIZER

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 in the production of methamphetamine.

Fertilizer plants and farms nationwide are increasingly being targeted as
the popularity and production of meth soar. 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 US 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 items 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. Last year, the state with the highest number of meth
lab seizures was California, with 1,232, the DEA said.

Richard Cerniglia, the DEA agent in charge in Cincinnati, said, "I don't
think there was a week last year where we didn't find one, get ready to
find one, or hear about one." 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 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 Williams County in northwest Ohio. "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 a cornea, have also taken their toll on nearby communities. In
April, all 230 residents of Old Monroe, Mo., were forced from their homes
when thieves let ammonia leak out of a storage tank. An apparently botched
theft in September at a farm supply store in Utica, Ky., forced 50 people
from their homes and caused several crashes on a highway when drivers
inhaled the fumes.

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.

Lowe has met with co-op managers in Indiana to talk about how to thwart the
thieves. "What we're trying to do is to slow them down and make it harder
for them get it," he said. "But if they want it bad enough, they're going
to get it."

Ron Bean, a Missouri farmer, said his portable tanks have been hit more
than 100 times. He was reluctant to give out his hometown because he feared
more thefts. "How do you stop fanatics when they're dedicated? There's only
one way these people will stop and that's when they're dead," he said.
"There's no risk they won't take."