Pubdate: Mon, 29 May 2000 Source: Chattanooga Times & Free Press (TN) Copyright: 2000 Chattanooga Times & Free Press Contact: P.O. Box 1447, Chattanooga, TN 37403 Website: http://www.timesfreepress.com/index.html Author: Ronnie Moore GRANT REWARDS WAR ON METH Federal agents in Southeast Tennessee busted more methamphetamine labs in 1999 than any other agents in the country, law enforcement officials say. Indeed, the 60 meth labs raided last year in the district was triple the number of the next closest federal district. And that number does not include raids conducted solely by local law enforcement officers. Numbers like that are why the Southeast Tennessee district could gain a $1 million federal grant to assist in fighting the area's meth war, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Russ Dedrick of Knoxville. Law enforcement agencies acknowledge there has been an explosion of meth manufacturing and use in the past five years. The next highest number of meth lab seizures in the United States was 20 in a federal district in Georgia, Mr. Dedrick said. "This pending meth grant is a recognition of the hard work, dedication and cooperation of local, state and federal law enforcement to address a growing problem," Mr. Dedrick said. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregg Sullivan said Hamilton County Sheriff John Cupp is the pending grant recipient. As such, he will keep tabs on the allocation and expenditure of grant proceeds. "There are 10 or 12 counties involved in the meth reduction effort in this area," Sheriff Cupp said. "With all the mountains we have, it is easy to hide methamphetamine labs. There have been many lab seizures in Sequatchie and Grundy counties." The grant would be used to train local and state officers, to pay overtime to officers and for education programs, Mr. Sullivan said. More than a dozen local officers have been trained for meth lab certification by the Drug Enforcement Administration at Quantico, Va., Mr. Sullivan said. Mr. Sullivan said numerous city and county law enforcement departments throughout the area are involved in the meth-reduction effort. Ben Scott, resident agent in charge of the DEA office in Chattanooga, said he would welcome a return to the 1980s when labs were large and chemicals used in meth manufacturing were harder to come by. "The labs were easier to locate because of their size," he said. "Now with the use of household chemicals, the labs can be operated in remote areas, barns, motel rooms, trailers or even in automobiles." - --- MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk