snap 01-13-07

Methamphetamine Awareness and Prevention Project of South Dakota

METH Awareness And Prevention Project of South Dakota

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January 13

In Kentucky - The discovery of a recently operational Meth lab in a home led to two arrests, but authorities are sill looking for the man accused of making the Meth. Officers are searching for the 33-year-old in connection with the Meth lab and various other charges. The lab was discovered when officers were at the home on an unrelated investigation. The officers noticed some cans of ether – common in Meth making - in a trash pile at the house. After receiving permission to search the property, police found several components used for Meth manufacturing as well as a surveillance system set up in the home and a large tank of anhydrous ammonia behind the house. Two women, both 37-years-old, and nine children were in the home when the lab was discovered. Both women were arrested on charges of facilitation of Meth manufacturing and three counts of controlled substance endangerment to a child. The endangerment charges were brought against them because their children, two 17-year-olds, a 16, 13, 12, 5, 3 and one-years-old and a one-year-old grandchild, were all at the house. The wanted man also lives at the house with the two women. He faces charges of manufacturing Meth, controlled substance endangerment to a child (nine counts) and knowingly possessing anhydrous ammonia in an improper container with the intent to manufacture Meth.

In Michigan - Police want criminal charges brought against a 53-year-old man they say was involved in a Meth lab discovered in a barn. He will be charged with frequenting a drug house, a misdemeanor. Although he lived in the house on the same property where the Meth lab was found, he will not face drug-manufacturing charges. Police believe the man’s 50-year-old brother was operating the lab and living in the barn where it was found. The brother has been charged with felony charges of possession and intent to deliver Meth, possession of marijuana, drug manufacturing, felony firearms violation and maintaining a drug house.

In Alabama - Officers ended weeks of investigation with the arrests of three people in a mobile home as Meth cooked on the stove. The two men, 28- and 26-years-old, and a 26-year-old woman face charges of Meth manufacturing. The month-long investigation focused on theft and narcotics linked to the three suspects. When officers served the warrant, they found the three suspects in the process of cooking Meth using the red phosphorous method. They also found the makings for much more, including a large number of Sudafed tablets.

In Virginia - A federal judge sentenced eight defendants to prison terms ranging from 21-months to more than 16-years in connection with a Meth ring. Those sentenced are among 19 defendants who have pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of Meth. It brings up the number of those already sentence to 10; nine more co-defendants are waiting for their sentencing. Officers estimated that the conspiracy dealt upward of 50 pounds of Meth over a two-year period and that at least one defendant gave Meth to high school students. Authorities honed in on the network after a homemade bomb exploded in one suspect’s truck. In the investigation, authorities seized a pound of Meth, $10,000 in cash and more than 40 firearms.

In Washington - When State Patrol troopers chased down a man with a backpack, they discovered more than they bargained for. In the pack, they found everything to make Meth. Field tests showed the presence of Meth in the backpack.

In Florida - Authorities broke up an elaborate Meth lab in a residential area. One officer said that, judging by the volume of chemicals found, the lab was one of the biggest and most sophisticated the sheriff's office had encountered. A 34-year-old woman and a 30-year-old man were arrested at the house.

In Idaho - Two drug raids led to five arrests and the seizure of at least 20 ounces of Meth, an assault rifle, ammunition and drug paraphernalia. In the first raid, officers found more than 20 baggies of Meth, each weighing an ounce, found inside a safe in the rear bedroom of the house, along with large amounts of cash and a small-caliber handgun. Two children lived in the house, and they were turned over to protective services. The second raid happened nearby the first. A search of a suspect turned up a small amount of Meth and an AK-47 in his car. Later, a search of the house yielded drug paraphernalia and several stolen guns. A 3-week-old infant lived at the second house, and was also placed into protective custody.