Pubdate: Sun, 25 Nov 2007
Source: Spartanburg Herald Journal (SC)
Copyright: 2007 The Spartanburg Herald-Journal
Contact:  http://www.goupstate.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/977
Author: Rachel E. Leonard
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

METH LABS BOILING UP AGAIN ACROSS UPSTATE

Lt. Ashley Harris is back in other people's labs.

A chemist for the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office,  Harris has
helped investigate 11 methamphetamine labs  in the county this year,
up from only one in 2006 and  four in 2005. New laws limiting the
availability of key  ingredients and creating stiffer penalties for
meth  production led to a lull in activity throughout the  state and
nation since 2004, when Spartanburg County  saw 17 labs.

Why business is again booming isn't clear.

The release of prior offenders from prison could play  into the
increase, Harris said.

Cooking again

"This year it's just started back off, and I think one  reason is the
guys we arrested in 2003, 2004 are coming  back out," he said. "Once
one guy hits the streets, he  teaches a guy who teaches this guy."

Since the beginning of the federal fiscal year on Oct.  1, the U.S.
Drug Enforcement Administration's  Greenville office has seen 11 labs
in the 10-county  Upstate region, said John Ozaluk, DEA assistant
special  agent in charge for South Carolina. It's a stark  contrast
from the entire fiscal year that ended in  October, when 29 labs were
reported to the Greenville  office.

The coming months might shed more light on whether labs  have made an
actual resurgence, Ozaluk said.

"Even if it's just one, that's more than we'd like to  see," he said.
"I think it's still early in the year,  but if that's a trend, if
we're already in double  digits the second month of our reporting
cycle,  hopefully that's not going to continue."

The true numbers could be higher because the DEA relies  on data
provided by local departments, Ozaluk said, and  the DEA statistics
generally don't include lab sites  that don't require professional
cleanups, such as when  officers find trash indicating a lab was once
in  operation.

Demand steady

Meth, a high-powered stimulant, can be "cooked" using  household
chemicals and common medicines, including  ephedrine or
pseudoephedrine, which is found in  products such as Sudafed. In
September 2006, a federal  law went into effect mandating medicines
containing  those ingredients be kept behind the counter and
restricting the amount of such drugs an individual can  buy each month.

The buyer must show photo identification. This year,  Harris said,
Spartanburg County deputies have started  getting tips from pharmacies
and other stores about  people who buy significant quantities of the
medicines  in a short time period.

The decrease in labs found locally in 2005 and 2006  doesn't mean
demand is any less. "Super" labs producing  massive quantities of the
drug in Mexico have become a  primary source for users in South
Carolina, according  to the DEA.

Still, the number of people seeking treatment for meth  addiction
locally pales in comparison to individuals  who seek help for
marijuana and cocaine use, said Kathy  Murphy, deputy director of
outpatient services for the  Spartanburg Alcohol and Drug Abuse
Commission. Only 66  out of 3,300 clients in outpatient treatment
through  the commission during the past year were specifically
identified as methamphetamine users, although others  had tried the
drug, she said.

Excluding three meth labs discovered in vehicles during  traffic
stops, the labs found this year in Spartanburg  County have been in
rural areas or motel rooms along  I-85 or Business 85. The Mayo,
Clifton and Cowpens  communities in particular have been host to
multiple  busts during the past years.

Some labs are found because of tips from the public or  informants,
others by pure chance. In April, for  example, deputies discovered
empty pill boxes and  blister packs indicative of a meth lab at
Country  Hearth Inn on International Drive after the room's  occupant
failed to check out as scheduled.

A house fire alerted sheriff's deputies to the presence  of a meth lab
on Mayo Road in June. Harris said the  resident ran from the house
before first responders  arrived - leaving behind his shoes and
possibly his  pants - and firefighters searching the home for victims
called officers after observing chemicals and glassware  associated
with meth production.

An investigation found the fire did not appear to be  related to the
lab, but officers found lab materials in  at least four rooms in the
house and in trash bags  outside. A video camera had been installed on
the roof  of the house, pointing toward the driveway, according  to
sheriff's office reports. Officers charged the  resident with
trafficking in meth.

In July, a Cowpens couple were arrested after an  officer serving a
bench warrant noticed a Pyrex dish  with white residue inside the home
and plastic bags  that later tested positive for meth. After obtaining
a  search warrant, investigators found lab materials in a  room off
the kitchen, its entrance covered with a black  sheet, according to
sheriff's office reports. Other lab  materials were in the kitchen,
living room and front  porch.

In 2006, the county's only lab was found on Thrift Road  in Mayo. One
lab in 2005 was in a vehicle, as were four  in 2004. Also in 2004,
investigators found trash from  meth production on the side of the
road, one in the  Fingerville community and one near Woodruff.

Sgt. Doug Harwell, a narcotics officer with the  Spartanburg Public
Safety Department, said he can't  remember the last time a working lab
was found inside  the Spartanburg city limits. "People are using it in
  the city, but there's a (lab) odor, and the city's  population is so
dense that it's hard to hide," he  said.

More labs in Upstate

The Palmetto state traditionally has seen more meth  labs and higher
methamphetamine use in the Upstate than  in areas such as Charleston,
where heroin is more  common than meth, Harris said. Since Oct. 1, the
DEA  has recorded only three labs outside of the Upstate,  Ozaluk said.

"There's a couple reasons I think factor into that," he  said. "One is
the geography of the state - the more  rural the setting, we seem to
find more meth labs. And  often what we find is if there's a pretty
active meth  problem, other people learn how to manufacture the meth
because there's more meth labs in the area and it  doesn't take much
more than being interested about it  to find out how to do it."

Additionally, proactive law enforcement and heightened  public
awareness of meth lab odors and indicators lead  to more lab busts.
The discovery of one lab often  creates a "snowball" effect, Harris
said, leading to  more busts as suspects tell officers who taught them
to  cook the drug.

The street price of meth also has risen, providing more  incentive to
produce it, Harris said. The drug's cost  now ranges between $80 to
$140 per gram in the area, he  said.

Whatever the reason behind the increased lab finds this  year, Harris
is sure of one thing: Lab discoveries,  often cyclical, are far from
over.

"I think you're going to see more of it," he said.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Derek