Pubdate: Thu, 27 Sep 2001
Source: Tennessean, The (TN)
Copyright: 2001 The Tennessean
Contact:  http://www.tennessean.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/447
Author: Leon Alligood, Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

114 ARE INDICTED ON 'METH' CHARGES

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The illegal drug methamphetamine has led to indictments 
of more than 114 people through two separate police operations on the 
Cumberland Plateau and in southeast Tennessee, federal officials and local 
authorities said yesterday.

At a news conference yesterday in Cookeville, officials announced the end 
to phase one of "Operation Stop Gap," a 13-month effort against "meth." 
There, 14 people were indicted, including two market owners accused of 
selling large quantities of cold medicines used to make the drug, said 
Harry Sommers, of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

Meanwhile, authorities in Chattanooga and Winchester, Tenn., announced 
yesterday that more than 100 people in 18 southeast Tennessee counties have 
been arrested and face federal drug charges as part of two anti-meth 
initiatives dubbed "All Methed Up" East and West.

"We believe that we have had a significant impact. We've put a lot of 
pressure on the providers" of the drug "and those who sell the chemicals 
needed to make it," Sommers said.

Among those indicted in the Cookeville operation were brothers Johnny 
Vinson of Nashville and Edward Vinson of Sparta, Tenn. The men were using 
their convenience store, the Hot Spot on Highway 84, to sell large 
quantities of pseudoephedrine to meth cooks, authorities said.

Pseudoephedrine is a decongestant found in many over-the-counter cold 
remedies. These tablets can be transformed into methamphetamine through a 
series of chemical reactions, which can be performed using the heat from a 
kitchen stove.

"We certainly hope that by these arrests that people will think long and 
hard before they decide to sell to anyone for the purpose of making meth. 
They can get some significant jail time, and under the current federal 
system there is no parole," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Bob Watson.

All but six of the 14 individuals named in the Cookeville indictments were 
arrested yesterday. The remaining six were expected to have been picked up 
by today. The Vinson brothers were in federal custody Nashville yesterday, 
officials said, and could not be reached for comment.

Methamphetamine is a stimulant made in homemade "labs" using a variety of 
commonly available products such as brake cleaner and Coleman lantern fuel. 
The process is dangerous, often creating hazardous fumes that are highly 
flammable. It has become the drug of choice in many areas of the Cumberland 
Plateau and adjacent counties because its high is said to be as good as 
cocaine's, but at a cheaper price.

The names of the 100-plus people arrested in "All Methed Up" were not 
immediately available from authorities yesterday.

Their identities and the charges they face will be released as they are 
arrested and appear before federal magistrates, according to a statement 
from federal prosecutors in Knoxville.

Operation Stop Gap has brought about 216 meth arrests since its beginning 
in August 2000, in addition to yesterday's 14 announced indictments.

White County Sheriff Guy Goff yesterday compared the meth problem to a 
football season that never ends.

"We've won one game, but we're getting ready for the next one. It's a tough 
problem that's not going to go away."

Staff Writer Carly Harrington contributed to this story.
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