Pubdate: Sat, 11 Mar 2006 Source: Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL) Copyright: 2006 Sun-Sentinel Company Contact: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/159 Author: Ihosvani Rodriguez, Miami Bureau Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?158 (Club Drugs) ECSTASY, METH LABS RAIDED, SHUT DOWN South Florida Production May Be On Rise SOUTH MIAMI Police and federal agents shut down two unrelated drug labs in South Florida this week, saying it might be an indication the potentially explosive operations are now being established in the region known for trafficking illegal drugs, not producing them. In both labs, authorities said they found materials to produce the illegal party drug Ecstasy, or MDMA. One of the labs also had chemicals used to make methamphetamine. LocalLinks Since federal officials began tracking them in 2002, there have been only three Ecstasy lab busts in Florida, none in the tri- county region. Since Oct. 2002, there have been only nine methamphetamine lab seizures in South Florida, seven of those in Broward County. Asked if the drug labs have finally arrived in South Florida, Drug Enforcement Administration spokeswoman Jeannette Moran said, "It sure does look like it." Police on Thursday were led to a South Miami townhouse located in the 5500 block of Southwest 67th Avenue after receiving an anonymous tip of drug deals going on in an apartment. An officer spotted Franklin John Wellman, 27, leaving the townhouse with a strong smell of marijuana coming out behind him. After the officer patted him down, Wellman tried to explain that the transparent liquid found in a tiny bottle inside his pants was water. It turned out to be gamma hydroxybutyric acid, commonly referred to by officials as GHB, known in the streets and "rave" parties as Liquid Ecstasy and a known "date rape" drug, according to Major Michael Mills, of the South Miami Police Department. Wellman allegedly admitted he bought the GHB at the townhouse. Police said a search of the townhouse turned up materials used to manufacture GHB, Ecstasy and methamphetamines. The kitchen and an upstairs bedroom were filled with trash, bottled chemicals, empty vials, beakers and chemistry sets, said South Miami Police Detective Richard Munoz. "When I started reading bottles of things that I couldn't even pronounce, I said, 'guys, let's get out of here,'" he said. Wearing hazardous material suits, local and federal authorities dismantled the lab. Police evacuated all residents from the complex. Wellman was charged with one count of possession of a controlled substance. Police said they also arrested the home's resident, Kyle B. Steinfatt, 26, and charged him with multiple felony drug charges. Steinfatt leases the home from his father, police said. If convicted, Steinfatt's charges call for a more severe punishment because the lab is located within 1,000 feet of South Miami Senior High School and a church day-care center, police said. At the same time Thursday night, DEA agents were across the county in Miami Beach tearing down an unrelated drug lab found in a second-floor apartment. There, officials found about 40 tablets of Ecstasy and enough material for an Ecstasy factory, said Moran. A 32-year-old man was taken into custody, but officials have not released his name. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom