Pubdate: Wed, 19 Oct 2005 Source: Charlotte Observer (NC) Copyright: 2005 The Charlotte Observer Contact: http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/78 Author: Kytja Weir, Staff Writer Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) AUTHORITIES SEE RISE IN METH LABS The 911 call came in Monday night: A methamphetamine lab might be inside the caller's south Charlotte home. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police, State Bureau of Investigation agents, hazmat crews and health department experts quickly swarmed the apartment on Reafield Drive as they've had to do more and more this year. It was the fifth methamphetamine lab found in Mecklenburg County since July, said Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Capt. Bruce Bellamy. That's as many labs found as in the previous four years combined. Methamphetamine, a stimulant commonly called crank, glass or ice, used to be a problem relegated to the West Coast. But it spread east into rural nooks of the Carolinas mountains. In 1999, officers statewide recorded nine busts of clandestine meth labs. By the beginning of this month, the SBI had recorded 270. Now, it appears to be trickling into more urban areas like Charlotte. Authorities are finding more labs here, Bellamy said, and the drug is showing up more often on the streets. The statewide boom prompted lawmakers this year to crack down on the sale of cold tablets containing pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in the illegal drug. So far, Bellamy said, Mecklenburg authorities have found labs in places ranging from south Charlotte housing complexes to an affluent neighborhood on Lake Norman's shore. But he notes, they could be anywhere. The term "lab" describes where the drug is "cooked," a process of combining household chemicals. Bellamy said the operations could fill a room, sit in the trunk of a car or even fit into something as small as a gym bag. Mecklenburg hasn't yet caught up to counties like McDowell, though, where the SBI said 54 clandestine labs were investigated in the first nine months of the year. But Mecklenburg authorities are becoming more accustomed to the lengthy cleanups. In Monday's Reafield Drive case, they worked late into the night to secure the chemicals. They evacuated neighbors as a precaution, then allowed them to return Tuesday once their homes had been declared safe. Police arrested Justin Rhoden, 18, on Tuesday and said they charged him with manufacturing methamphetamine, two counts of possession, and possession of a weapon of mass destruction. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D