Pubdate: Thu, 27 Oct 2005
Source: Pacific Daily News (US GU)
Copyright: 2005 Pacific Daily News
Contact: http://www.guampdn.com/customerservice/contactus.html
Website: http://www.guampdn.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1122
Author: Tammy Anderson
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

FEDS: 'ICE' CASES MAY DOUBLE

Federal officials fear that as drug smuggling is clogged at the
borders, Guam may see a rise in production of crystal methamphetamine
at local homes.

U.S. Attorney Leonardo Rapadas said more in-house production may
result as more smugglers are caught on their way into Guam.

Rapadas said that during the past four years, the number of cases that
involve the drug commonly known as ice has been steady, but he
estimates there will be double the number of defendants in federal
court facing charges relating to ice next year. In the past five years
there have been 1,420 ice-related cases.

The reason for the expected increase in the number of cases is that it
requires more individuals to produce ice than to buy it from an
importer and resell it. Rapadas also said robberies, burglaries and
other crimes are a result of Guam's drug problem.

Dededo resident Ray Llaneta has been robbed of $4,000 during the past
two years. The most recent break-in happened a few weeks ago, a day
before he returned from vacation in the Philippines. Llaneta's sister
saw someone in his garage hours before he and his family were
scheduled to fly back to Guam. Llaneta was missing a $2,100 generator
and a bushcutter.

But Llaneta suspects the thieves were not in the market for a
generator.

"The root problem is probably drugs. These (thieves) seem desperate.
It is not a crime of opportunity. To me, that is active desperation.
They need the money for the fix," said Llaneta.

Rapadas said many cases are being found around Guam's ports, but that
is not the solution to the problem.

The solution, he said, is depleting the need residents have for the
drug, to make fewer people on the island consumers of the drug.
Rapadas said it starts in the home with good parenting.

"People who are addicted to ice will do anything and everything to get
the drug," he said.

Rapadas said the U.S. Attorney's office has been speaking with
retailers about the sale of over-the-counter drugs that could be used
to produce ice.

In some states, there are laws that regulate the sale of products,
such as Sudafed, which contain a key ice component called
pseudoephedrine. But such laws may not be necessary considering Guam's
population.

Rapadas said he's asked local retailers to report to the police any
suspicious purchases.

Acting Chief of Customs and Quarantine Raffaele Sgambelluri said
nabbing smugglers would be a lot more difficult without the
cooperation of people who have information on smugglers.

In the past three days, three individuals each have been sentenced to
serve more than five years in jail for selling the drug, and Gilbert
Matta is on trial for his part in a drug ring running from Tijuana,
Mexico, to Guam.

Attorney General Douglas Moylan said cracking down on the drug will
help people with an ice problem get help.

"Ice is the most common drug that we are finding," Moylan
said.

He said that his office works closely with the U.S. Attorney's office
to determine who will prosecute the drug user or dealer.

Llaneta said he plans to implement a neighborhood watch program in the
upcoming months.

"I have lived here all my life and every other person I talk to seems
to have a story about being victimized in the past few months,"
Llaneta said.

"It's a sickening feeling. I think it is going from bad to worse.
People are talking about organized criminals that are trying to bring
(ice) in. The more they bring it in, the more people are going to get
hooked on it, and we have to find ways to deal with it somehow," he
said.

By The Numbers

In the past five years there have been 1,420 cases charged that deal
with the drug ice. Of that number, 125 cases have included the charge
possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver and
1,295 have included possession of a controlled substance.

In the past five years there have been 626 convictions of defendants
who were charged with an offense dealing with ice.

Estimates from the Drug Enforcement Administration place one gram of
ice at a street value of $350.

In 2003, the Guam Police Department estimated that 68 percent of
arrests have been for controlled substances.

Ice And Its Effects

Methamphetamine causes mind and mood changes such as anxiety,
euphoria, and depression. Long-term effects can include chronic
fatigue, paranoid or delusional thinking, and permanent psychological
damage.

"Amping" on "ice" creates a false sense of energy, making the user
push his or her body faster.

Methamphetamine can take away your self-control and can be more
addictive than crack.

An overdose of meth can result in heart failure. Long-term physical
effects such as liver, kidney, and lung damage also may kill you.
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