Pubdate: Sun, 2 Nov 2008 Source: State Journal-Register (IL) Copyright: 2008 The State Journal-Register Contact: http://www.sj-r.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/425 Author: John Reynolds Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Marijuana) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) METH LABS FOUND LESS OFTEN IN FARM FIELDS State Laws, County Efforts Credited With Decline TOVEY -- It's been a while since Dennis Braeuninger has run across anyone cooking up a batch of methamphetamine in his cornfield about three miles south of Tovey. About five years ago, it was a different story for the Christian County farmer. One day in June or July, while transferring a load of corn from a storage bin to a truck, Braeuninger saw a small pickup speed out of his field just yards from where he was working. The tall summer corn had hidden the truck, and when he walked back to investigate, he found empty blister packets from a package of pseudoephedrine tablets. Pseudoephedrine is one of the ingredients in the production of methamphetamine. "I started to go down the road, and decided it wasn't worth chasing them," Braeuninger said. "I didn't want to confront them. ... You never know what you are going to walk up on." In 2003 and 2004, it wasn't unusual for farmers to run across remnants of meth labs in their fields. The number of incidents picked up during harvest season when farmers returned to the fields. Nowadays, however, area farmers rarely find evidence of meth labs in their fields. In Christian County, for instance, deputies have taken three reports this year involving meth labs. In 2004, they took 29 such reports. "I attribute the decline to laws being changed and it being mandatory for people to disclose their identity when purchasing pills," said Christian County Sheriff Bob Kindermann. "Also, the efforts of our local drug task force has also helped in the decline." The laws Kindermann referred to went on the books in January 2006, and require a signature and ID to purchase cold medicine that contains pseudoephedrine. Chief Deputy Tony Sacco of the Sangamon County Sheriff's Office said his department has also seen a decline in meth cases. He also attributed the decline to new laws and beefed-up police enforcement. In Sangamon County, that often meant the Drug Investigations Response Team, which is better known as the DIRT Team. "Our DIRT Team has just been overwhelmingly successful in attacking that drug," Sacco said. "I think we made a very serious impact in Sangamon County." Sacco added that when the DIRT team was formed in 2004, about 85 to 90 percent of its cases centered on meth. Today, the drug represents less than 10 percent of the cases. Unfortunately, the county team is still busy. It handles cases involving cocaine, marijuana and even heroin. In many instances, the meth labs discovered in cornfields were nothing more than a few containers filled with dangerous chemicals such as anhydrous ammonia, a chemical used on farm fields. Braeuninger said farmers have to put on rubber gloves and goggles when handling anhydrous ammonia, but he has heard of meth users stealing the chemical and hauling it in an open bucket. Anhydrous ammonia can cause chemical burns on skin as well as in the lungs. "It's very hazardous. I can't believe they put it in their body," Braeuninger said. Since that initial encounter five years ago, Braeuninger said, he hasn't seen any evidence of meth labs in his fields. He credited both Kindermann and the Christian County State's Attorney's Office with clamping down on the drug. "It's definitely getting cleaned up in our county," Braeuninger said. "I think it has a lot to do with our sheriff and our state's attorney." While the number of meth cases is declining, Kindermann said the drug is still around in Christian County. He added that the figures for the number of meth cases he provided are only for the unincorporated areas of the county. They do not include incorporated towns like Taylorville. "It's still a serious problem in our county. We receive information that people are still manufacturing (methamphetamine). They are still stealing anhydrous ammonia from the fertilizer plant. We are still going to have to do everything possible to investigate these cases and identify who's involved," Kindermann said. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake