News - Snapshot15

February 21
In Pennsylvania - A traffic stop started a police pursuit that stretched from midnight until noon. After State Troopers pulled a car over, the two men in the vehicle fled on foot. A helicopter shortly found the first man. The other managed to hide for twelve hours. Police found tanks that had contained anhydrous ammonia in the suspects` car, and believe it was used to manufacture Meth.

In Idaho – A 29-year-old mother has been charged with allegedly injuring her newborn child by using Meth while pregnant. The infant tested positive for Meth at the hospital shortly after birth. The mother admitted she used the drug while she was pregnant. Her other two children have been taken away from the home for now.

In Tennessee – A prosecutor charges that the owner of a garden/general store sold huge amounts of crystal iodine to Meth dealers, knowing that the product would be used in manufacturing the drug. According to the defense attorney, though, the man sold it to people claiming they needed it to treat thrush in horses. The prosecutor claims that the suspect had been told to be careful about selling large quantities of items that could be used to make Meth. Later, undercover agents made 20 large purchases of iodine at the store. 20 convicted Meth dealers are expected to be witnesses as to their purchasing iodine from the defendant. Reportedly, he would only take cash for the buys and seldom collected the tax due. The 63-year-old grandfather is standing trial in Federal Court on conspiracy to manufacture Meth, conspiracy to distribute iodine for Meth production and possession of distribution of Meth products.

In Ohio - An apparent traffic violation led police to a suspected Meth lab. The driver of the vehicle had some Meth on him when he was stopped. During a police interview, he agreed to be an informant and offered information to officers concerning Meth production. Following up on the information, police found the probable Meth lab in a home across the street from the police chief’s residence. During a search of the home, officers found an amount of Meth. Two people, a 34-year-old man and his 33-year-old girlfriend, were arrested.

In Kansas - A Reno County Sheriff's deputy who smelled a strong chemical odor coming from a car parked at a Co-op ended up arresting two men Saturday night after he found a suspected Meth lab. Acting on his suspicions, the deputy got and acted on a search warrant. He found a number of items used in manufacturing Meth. The two men who were in the car, a 43-year-old and a 38-year-old, were arrested.

In Pennsylvania - Police and Haz-Mat crews responded to a suspected Meth lab scene in after a late night disturbance triggered an investigation. A man, believed to be a resident of the house, was found bleeding in the backyard. According to one report, Haz-Mat crews were bringing out boxes of evidence. Police had not confirmed if they did find a Meth lab inside.

February 20
In New Jersey - A Tennessee man whose father set up a Meth lab was sentenced to two years' probation. He pled guilty to possession and jumping bail. His father was sentenced to 10 years in prison for manufacturing a narcotic.

In Minnesota – A 38-year-old woman who was arrested over a year ago was sentenced to 54 months in prison for first-degree sale of Meth. Her 24-year-old boyfriend, who was arrested at the same time, was sentenced to 134 months in prison for first-degree sale of Meth. They were originally charged with second-degree possession of Meth in addition to first-degree sale, but plea-bargained the charges down. The case hinged on a sale of a half-ounce of Meth to an undercover agent and a discovery of another 18 grams of the drug in the couple’s possession.

In Arizona - A veritable salad of narcotics was seized Thursday by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents at a Port of Entry in downtown Nogales. An officer screening people and vehicles entering the United States searched a 2001 BMW after questioning the driver. During the search, what appeared to be a compartment in the floor of the car was discovered. A drug dog alerted officers to the presence of drugs, and a further search led to trap doors to the compartment. Inside, they found 34 packages of narcotics, including eight pounds of heroin, seven pounds of Meth, and almost 70 pounds of cocaine. The 43-year-old woman driving the car was arrested. Later the same day, another drug dog alerted officers to drugs in another vehicle. They found nine pounds of Meth and about 14 pounds of cocaine hidden in a compartment. The 20-year-old man who was driving the car was arrested. Officers estimated that the bulk value of the drugs seized was more than $973,000.

February 19
In North Carolina - Thursday morning, a Rockingham County Sheriffs deputy, along with an officer from the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office, made a vehicle traffic stop and discovered the driver was carrying more than 4 pounds of Meth. It was the largest Meth bust in Rockingham County history. The driver, a 38-year-old man, was arrested and charged with one count of trafficking Meth.

February 18
In Indiana - Three people were arraigned on Friday on Meth charges. A couple, a 49-year-old man and his 41-year-old wife, were charged with manufacturing Meth, felony firearm and maintaining a drug house. A 25-year-old woman was also arrested and charged with child endangerment and Meth use. The Cass County Drug Enforcement Team raided the couple's home and discovered them in the process of cooking Meth. The 25-year-old was in the home at the time with her two children.

In Arizona - Phoenix police found an abandoned vehicle in an intersection near the state Capitol that appeared to contain several containers of explosive liquid, or Molotov cocktail, and materials that could be used to make Meth.

In Wisconsin - Prosecutors say a 37-year-old man who has been charged with possession of child porn may face more charges after officials searching his home found chemicals and equipment associated with making Meth.

In California - Three adults were arrested and four children taken into protective custody Thursday after Sheriff deputies served a search warrant for possible possession of Meth at a residence. Deputies arrested the main suspect, a 32-year-old man, when he left his residence. When officers executed a search warrant, they found a child sleeping in a crib, alone in the house. Deputies recovered approximately three and half ounces of suspected Meth, marijuana packaging materials, a digital scale, $2,500, and a 45-caliber handgun.

February 17
In Ohio – A main highway was closed for more than four hours Thursday evening after officers found a suspected drug lab in a mobile home just 30-feet away from the busy road. The road was closed because officials were concerned about a possible explosion or fire. A woman living near the mobile home called police to report a strong chemical odor coming from her neighbor’s home. Investigators found chemicals and equipment for cooking Meth in the home. One officer needed to be treated at a hospital after inhaling some of the fumes. Three people were arrested in connection to the case.

In West Virginia – Deputies in Upshur County found an inactive Meth lab in a mobile home right behind a major lumber business. They found enough residue and evidence to arrest two suspects and charge them with operation of a clan lab.

In Florida - Police shut down a home Meth lab and arrested three people after a six-week investigation. The case began when someone called police to report a chemical smell coming from the home. The two men and a woman are charged with manufacture of Meth, a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

In Oregon - Two Salem men have been sentenced to long prison terms for attempting to distribute Meth. One, an illegal resident, was ordered to spend 20 years in federal prison followed by 10 years of probation for his role in trying to deliver three-quarters of a pound of Meth. The other was sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison and 10 years probation for distribution of Meth.

February 16
In New York - A 25-year-old woman faces drug and weapon charges related to a fatal explosion and fire in what officials believe may have been the first fatal Meth lab fire in New York. The suspect has been charged with felony criminal possession of a controlled substance and possession of stolen property. She also was charged with a misdemeanor weapon possession count. Her 28-year-old boyfriend died Tuesday after an explosion in a home’s basement.

In Minnesota - Duluth police want to condemn a house in what is known as one of the city's safest neighborhoods after a Meth lab/marijuana-growing operation were uncovered there. Investigators are seeking charges of first-degree manufacture of Meth, manufacture and cultivation of marijuana, firearms possession and drug possession against a 34-year-old man and a 29-year-old man. One of the suspects arrested was in possession of four handguns, cash, Meth and drug-packaging material. The case began when a trooper stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation and found more than four pounds of marijuana. That bust led investigators to the Duluth residence. Officers found Meth in the final process of being cooked when they executed a search warrant. Also in Minnesota, state troopers stopped a Carlton County driver for speeding. He was carrying a half-pound of Meth in a pocket. The drug was hidden in a franchise restaurant sandwich bag that an officer reported was imprinted with the words "freshly baked."

In Illinois - Investigators uncovered a Meth lab while searching a home for child porn. Federal and state officials used a search warrant to enter a home as part of a child pornography investigation. Officials found a stash of chemicals believed to be used in producing Meth. Agents got a second search warrant to seize the evidence believed to be tied to Meth production and arrested a 37-year-old man.

In Georgia – A Tennessee woman associated with a large Meth lab turned herself in to the Walker County Sheriff's Office. The 19-year-old is charged with trafficking Meth, possession of altered ephedrine, child endangerment, possession of a controlled substance and possession of Meth. Officers had found a Meth lab and an infant in a home that the suspect left shortly before the raid. Authorities are still looking for a 32-year-old man in connection to the case.

February 15
In Washington - A national health team is investigating a tuberculosis outbreak among Meth users in Snohomish County, Washington. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sent a three-person team for the investigation. Local health officials learned in August of one case of TB involving a Meth user. By December, the number had grown to four. Now, nine patients appear to have been infected with a similar strain. The common denominator among all nine is their shared Meth use, which would have brought them into close enough contact for TB exposure, officials say. Read more about the TB outbreak in Snohomish County and officials’ response to it.

In New York - Police confirmed that a home where a 28-year-old man died in an explosion and fire was the site of a Meth lab. He was found in a cellar bedroom of the home. The door had been closed; preventing spread of a fire that had been so hot all that remained of the door was the hinges. Investigators were focused on the contents of a one-stall garage just south of the home.

In Iowa - Davenport police have issued warrants for two people in connection with a fire at the Blackhawk Hotel. Police say the two were using a room to make and sell Meth before an explosion and fire. There was extensive damage from the fire.

In Minnesota - The Minnesota State Patrol made its largest Meth bust ever during a routine traffic stop last week on Interstate 94. Two troopers and a drug-sniffing dog found 11.5 pounds of Meth - with a street value of more than $1 million - hidden in the passenger air bag compartment of a car they stopped near Monticello. The seizure isn't the biggest quantity ever in the state, but the Meth was extremely pure, giving it a higher street value and meaning that users wouldn't need as much to get high.

In British Columbia, Canada - A tip from an observant crew of house cleaners led Victoria police to a home-based crystal Meth lab. The cleaning crew hired to scrub down a residence called police Sunday after noticing an extremely powerful odor of ‘cat urine’. Officers recovered Meth-making ingredients and equipment, including about 300 blister packs of Sudafed.