Pubdate: Sun, 15 Sep 2002 Source: Arizona Daily Star (AZ) Copyright: 2002 Pulitzer Publishing Co. Contact: http://www.azstarnet.com/star/today/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/23 Author: L. Anne Newell METH TRAFFIC BOOMING ON BORDER Authorities Seize Record Amount Of Addictive Drug Drug-Related Violence, Crime Also On The Rise U.S. Customs agents in Arizona have seized nearly 20 times as much methamphetamine this year as they did four years ago, a record pace that worries local law enforcement agents and drug treatment providers, who say meth is already a large - and dangerous - problem. Officials attribute the increase to tougher state and national laws, which limit how much of some meth ingredients can be purchased, and increased attention from law enforcement agencies. They say those factors are forcing large-scale meth production south of the border. "It's an explosion," says Tony Ryan, a Tucson-based special agent of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Local agencies already have their hands full, too, combating small- scale "mom-and-pop" labs. Authorities busted 15 labs in Pima County through August this year, only three fewer than they discovered in all of 2001. Each lab is extremely dangerous, authorities say, because it can contain highly explosive chemicals and toxic gases or be rigged to explode if tampered with. Meth also breeds violence, they say, and police are recording higher levels of some crimes typically associated with the drug. And local officials fear the situation may get worse before it improves, with some likening meth to the crack epidemic of the 1980s. They say the increasingly larger border seizures and sustained local meth abuse mean more Mexican methamphetamine is on its way. "A Decided Shift To Mexico" Clandestine labs in Mexico are nothing new. Along with labs in California and the Midwest, they began making most of the United States' meth in the 1990s, taking control of the trade from motorcycle gangs, the Drug Enforcement Administration says. As laws restricting possession of prime meth ingredients, such as the decongestant pseudoephedrine, were strengthened in the '90s, authorities began to see a rise in the number of large-scale Mexican meth labs. They say these "super labs" can produce more than 10 pounds of meth daily - a large amount considering meth is typically sold in ounces or grams. The Mexican labs started using California's ports of entry to transport the drug into the United States, said U.S. Customs Service spokesman Roger Maier. Now the trend is moving east into Arizona. U.S. Customs agents in Arizona have seized 317 pounds of meth, also known as speed and crank, among other names, in 91 busts this fiscal year, up from 18 pounds in 45 busts in 1998, Maier said. And that's just what agents have been able to find. "When people smuggle whatever through the port of entry, we only catch a portion of it," said Rudy Cole, director of anti-smuggling for U.S. Customs Field Operations in Arizona. "We're not so naive or arrogant to think we're catching all of it." The ingredients needed to make meth also are entering Arizona from Mexico, where they're not strictly regulated. In August 2001, inspectors at the San Luis port of entry seized 23.5 pounds of meth- making crystal iodine, Maier said, and this March, special agents in Yuma seized 51,200 dosages of pseudoephedrine. Officials warned against just looking at statistics, saying three large seizures this year may have inflated numbers. But those seizures - 128 pounds and two of 80 pounds each - also are evidence that the "super labs" are using Arizona's ports, Cole said. "We believe there's been a decided shift to Mexico," he says. "There may even be labs in South America." Officials say some Mexican meth may stay in Southern Arizona, but much of it goes north. The DEA's Ryan said Mexican meth has gone through Arizona to Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho and elsewhere. But much of the drug appears to be manufactured locally by mom-and-pop labs. Labs are easier to set up than a decade ago and more portable. Officials see them in hotel rooms, campers and homes across Tucson. Unlike other Arizona counties, Pima County is on pace to bust more than in any of the previous three years. None of the ingredients in itself is illegal and "recipes" abound on the Internet, officials say. Plus, a few hundred dollars can produce thousands of dollars worth of meth. Nationally, officials busted about 8,000 meth labs in 2001, according to the National Clandestine Laboratory Database at the El Paso Intelligence Center, a DEA center that tracks national drug movement and immigration violations. Of those 8,000 labs, 7,700 were mom-and-pop labs. The others were "super labs," nearly double the number of super labs in 2000. "Labs That Turn Into Bombs" Wherever they are, meth labs are dangerous, officials say. Some chemicals used are highly flammable or explosive. The lab operators, or cooks, rig booby traps. And each pound of meth produced creates 5 or 6 pounds of toxic waste. "This is a huge safety issue," the DEA's Ryan said. "These are labs that turn into bombs." A typical meth lab will include red phosphorous, hydrochloric acid, drain cleaner, battery acid, lye, lantern fuel and antifreeze and can produce phosphene gas, which is so toxic it can kill. Another key ingredient, hydriodic acid, can dissolve flesh in seconds and its fumes can collapse the lungs. Red phosphorus, if mishandled, converts to yellow phosphorus and can ignite spontaneously. Meth cooks sometimes pour leftover chemicals and sludge down drains or in their yards. Some pose long-term hazards because they can remain in soil and ground water for years. Cleanup costs are high because contaminated soil has to be incinerated. In Arizona, authorities spent more than $1.2 million last year cleaning labs, nearly $70,000 of it in Pima County. "People should be concerned about meth in their neighborhoods," said Lt. David Denlinger of the Department of Public Safety. "I've seen operators pour chemicals in neighbor's yards, lakes or water wells, alleys and garbage cans. One poured his waste in his neighbor's pool." Investigators don protective gear that includes a self-contained breathing apparatus, a hazardous materials suit and protective gloves and shoe covers, said Officer Craig Bowles, one of four hazardous materials technicians assigned to the DPS in Southern Arizona. "Just minute traces of the phosphene gas can cause complications and death," he said. Technicians check for poisonous gas. Bomb technicians are called in. If officials find an active lab, a chemist is brought in. Rise In Crime Related To Meth Then there's the violence. "Because most (meth makers) are paranoid, they end up being heavily armed," Denlinger said. "In one case in Phoenix, someone went out to dump his garbage and the meth lab operator behind him attacked him with a machete. He thought he was being spied on." Tucson police street narcotics Sgt. Michael Garcia said there has been an increase in crimes related to meth. "They get quite violent," Garcia said of meth users. "And they steal to get what they need to get. There's assaults, a lot of fraud. They're involved in ID theft, in stealing mail. It's incredible what these people will do." Statistics show larceny and car theft totals were higher last year than they had been in years. More robberies were recorded than ever before, too, although there have been about 25 percent fewer this year. There were more than 1,100 forgery cases in 2001 - 300 more than the previous high - and nearly 2,700 cases of fraud - 400 more than the previous high. He said his department makes more arrests for meth than any other drug, including crack cocaine, but also could not provide those numbers because arrests aren't classified by drug. Police have alerted the public this year about mail-theft rings they think use stolen goods to fund meth production. Some high-profile homicides also have been linked to meth, including that of 28-year-old Jeffrey Daniel Delaney, whom officials say was killed by relatives of a 13-year-old girl he was sleeping with and providing meth to, and 25-year-old Jasmine Holland, whom officials say was killed by her ex-boyfriend because she gave police information about his meth-dealing friends. Garcia said police deal with labs regularly but, "I think we're not getting half of them." The Metropolitan Area Narcotics Interdiction Squads seized 542.3 grams of meth through August, compared with 487.57 grams last year. The multiagency anti-narcotics task force, administered by Tucson police, busted 28 labs in 2001, making 31 arrests, and had gone to 12 labs through last month, arresting nine people. Children Are Often Around MANTIS Sgt. Mark Morlock says most of the labs are found inadvertently - and usually have children nearby. The DEA has found 44 children at the 205 meth labs busted statewide this year. Fifteen of those labs - and five children - were in Pima County. "It's become a very popular drug here lately. It hasn't replaced, but it's very similar to, the crack epidemic of years ago," Morlock said. "A lot of cocaine and crack users have switched to methamphetamine because it's cheaper and more readily available." Lt. Rocky Quijada, the DPS Southern Narcotics District commander, said: "It's hard to say how much is in Arizona because they're transient. They might cook someplace one week and go somewhere else another week. It's not uncommon to have a trailer shell and a couple crockpots in there." The dangers are familiar for neighbors of meth houses. In early August, authorities discovered a lab at 3315 N. Pantano Road while serving an unrelated warrant. Officers also discovered dynamite. "We had no idea anything was going on," said John Keables, who lives next door. "The first clue we had was when we saw the SWAT team." In retrospect, Keables says, the long, odd hours his neighbors kept and their frequent visitors should have been suspicious, but he never thought it would happen next door to him. "It's really pretty scary that all this time we were living next to these people," he said. "But I'm less afraid of the presence of the chemicals than what the people into that are capable of." It's a concern for those who treat meth addiction, too. "Methamphetamine continues to be the main drug that is bringing people in," says Marta McKenna, program coordinator for Codac Behavioral Health Service's Las Amigas and Las Hermanas treatment programs. She said meth is debilitating - and highly addictive. "It's very, very hard on the families and there are significant health complications because of it," she said. "Nine out of 10 people coming in have that as their primary addiction." Jena Russell, 30, knows exactly what McKenna means. Russell first used meth at her hotel job in Colorado Springs in 1996. She and her husband were having problems. Meth helped her get through the day and stay up all night, doing laundry and cleaning house. "Then I started using more and more and it was hard to supply my addiction," she said. She lost her job and stayed at home with the couple's chil-dren, lying to her husband about money and stealing to make ends meet. Then she started dating her dealer and eventually followed him to Arizona. Things got worse when he was arrested and sent to prison. She was arrested. She was pregnant and shooting up meth. "I tried to quit several times, but I couldn't," she said. "It's powerful. I can't even say how powerful it was. It plays big tricks on your mind. You see things that aren't there." She was arrested again and her daughter was taken from her by the state. As part of her sentence, she had to get treatment. She entered the Las Amigas treatment program in March. Her daughter, Erika, now 21 months old, has been back with her since April. She doesn't show any effects of Russell's drug use. Russell is communicating with her now ex-husband and hopes to visit Colorado when she leaves Las Amigas and see her other children, now 5 and 6. "I have new, different fears now," she said. "My fears before were where my new hit was coming from. Now I'm afraid of where I'm going to live, where I'm going to go to school, where I'm going to get a job." "The Big Drug In The Country" Local authorities say they can't predict where Southern Arizona's meth problems will go. Some say areas with typically high production rates - such as Missouri, with more than 2,200 lab incidents last year; California, with about 1,850; and Washington, with nearly 1,500 - will retain most of the production. Others think Pima County will mirror Maricopa County, which had 307 labs busted and 395 arrests in 1999, but only 146 lab seizures and 177 arrests through this August. Still, the county is on pace to record the first increase in meth labs since 1999, the DEA reports. "It's the big drug in the country," said Maricopa County sheriff's Capt. Don Schneidmiller, project manager for Maricopa County's meth task force. "And it's the No. 1 drug that we have a problem with in this community, by far. It's everywhere, absolutely everywhere." Others say it will continue to be a problem, no matter what. "Is it a worry that it will stay?" DPS Lt. Quijada asked. "The worry is that it exists." (SIDEBAR) Methamphetamine, also known as meth, speed and crank among other names, was developed in the early 20th century. It was used in nasal decongestant and to treat narcolepsy and obesity. It was reclassified as a Schedule II drug - one with little medical use and a high potential for abuse - in the 1970s. The drug comes in pills, capsules, powder and chunks and can be smoked, snorted, injected intravenously or eaten. It sells for $400 to $3,000 an ounce. Meth works by stimulating the central nervous system, with effects lasting four to 24 hours. It changes the brain after prolonged use and kills by causing heart failure, brain damage and stroke. It also can induce acute psychiatric symptoms that lead to suicide or murder. Side effects are anxiety, nervousness, extreme irritability, verbosity, purposelessness, repetitious behavior such as picking at skin or pulling out hair, depression and a false sense of confidence and power. Babies born addicted to meth suffer problems including low birth weight, excessive crying and attention deficit disorder. Local Danger Signs of a meth lab can include unusual, strong odors similar to cat urine or nail polish remover, large amounts of products such as cold medicines, antifreeze and drain cleaner or frequent night traffic. To report a lab, call 911 or 88-CRIME, the Pima County Attorney's Office anonymous tip line. You also may call the federal Drug Enforcement Administration at 573-5500 and ask for the duty agent. You may remain anonymous. Meth Seizures At The Border * U.S. Customs' meth seizures in Arizona, including the border : 1998* 45 Seizures 18 Pounds 1999* 55 Seizures 70 Pounds 2000* 70 Seizures 239 Pounds 2001* 85 Seizures 172 Pounds 2002* 91 Seizures 317 Pounds *Federal fiscal year, Oct. 1 through Sept. 30. Through August. Source: U.S. Customs A Highly Addictive Drug Meth In Arizona LABS ARRESTS CLEAN-UP COSTS 1999 Arizona 430 498 $1,881,883.38 Pima County 17 12 $71,118.19 Maricopa County 307 395 $1,256,170.11 Mohave County 64 51 $298,035.29 2000 Arizona 376 476 $1,572,335.00 Pima County 15 19 $61,622.14 Maricopa County 287 345 $1,172,705.27 Mohave County 39 54 $170,034.07 2001 Arizona 326 396 $1,211,126.18 Pima County 18 25 $69,816.80 Maricopa County 232 268 $874,041.22 Mohave County 36 46 $136,463.37 2002* Arizona 216 241 $578,388.85 Pima County 15 5 $35,835.57 Maricopa County 146 177 $383,957.61 Mohave County 18 19 $46,257.43 *Through August Source: Drug Enforcement Administration - --- MAP posted-by: Beth