Pubdate: Wed, 13 Sep 2000
Source: Waco Tribune-Herald (TX)
Contact:  http://accesswaco.com/news/index.html
Forum: http://www.accesswaco.com/cgi-bin/pforum/show?ROOT7
Author: Mike Anderson, Tribune-Herald staff writer

BOSQUE COUNTY OFFICIALS SUSPECT DRUG LAB IN TRAILER FIRE

Bosque County authorities suspect a fire that destroyed a trailer near Lake
Whitney may have started in a speed lab.

Coy Jones, chief deputy for the Bosque County Sheriff's Department, said
investigators have found evidence pointing to the production of
methamphetamine, a stimulant, in the remains of a trailer that was destroyed
in a blaze Sunday night.

"We do suspect they were in the process of cooking up a batch and it got
away from them," he said. "From what we could see it might have been flash
fire. Despite earlier reports, there had not been an explosion."

Coy said the fire started about 6 p.m. Sunday in a trailer near the Lakeside
Village community. He said authorities are planning to arrest three suspects
in connection with the blaze. The suspects fled the scene soon after the
fire began and were found in another trailer a short distance away, he said.

Coy would not release the suspects' names pending their arrest. He said
before the suspects are arrested, his department needs to meet with the U.S.
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to discuss the case. He said the
Dallas ATF office was investigating criminal activity in the Dallas area
that might be connected to this case.

Coy said methamphetamine production is growing problem in Bosque County,
with eight labs found in the county so far this year. The county's proximity
to Dallas and Fort Worth makes it an ideal location for dealers to set up
clandestine labs, he said.

"People can come down from the Metroplex and reach the north part of the
county within 30 minutes," he said. "They set up in these rural areas
because they are hard to detect."

John Haigood, assistant commander of the Agriplex Drug Task Force, said
Bosque County is not alone. The task force, which is located in Waco, is a
state and federally funded program that brings together the sheriff's
departments of McLennan, Falls and Freestone counties, as well as several
area police departments, in investigating drug violations.

Haigood said more labs have begun popping up in McLennan and other Central
Texas counties recently, including six in the last two months. He said these
small operations are becoming more common because local dealers found a way
to make the drug cheaper than it costs to bring in from Mexico.

Haigood said a person can easily "cook" up to 2 ounces of the drug in three
or four hours, needing little space or equipment. He said that amount of the
drug can be sold for at least $4,000 on the street.

"These cook labs are springing up all over the place," he said. "You can get
everything you need to make it at Wal-Mart, except for anhydrous ammonia,
and farmers use that for fertilizer."

A fertilizer salesman at Waco's Double Circle Co-Op said anhydrous ammonia
is cheap and easy to get, but he that he suspected drug makers are stealing
it to avoid suspicion. He said area farmers have been reporting fertilizer
thefts in increasing numbers.

Coy said because his county has a small tax base, his department does not
have the funds to hire more officers to deal with the growing problem.

"I wish I had that luxury, but I don't," he said. "So what we do is, when we
get information about a drug lab, we focus on that. That is between focusing
on all the services we provide to the county."

Mike Anderson can be reached at  or at 757-5755.
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