Pubdate: Mon, 22 Apr 2002
Source: Sun Herald (MS)
Copyright: 2002, The Sun Herald
Contact:  http://www.sunherald.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/432
Author: Reggie Beehner

3-YEAR DRUG PROBE NEARING END

Multi-State Arrests In Crystal Meth Investigation Include George 
County Sheriff's Son

PASCAGOULA - Authorities are in the final stretch of a wide-reaching 
drug investigation that has netted more than 35 arrests, including 
the son of the George County sheriff.

Operation Scratching Post, as the investigation came to be known, 
spanned over five states and drew from the work of more than 40 law 
enforcement agencies, Jackson County Sheriff Mike Byrd said Saturday 
at a press conference.

The three-year investigation, led by a team of state and federal drug 
agencies, resulted in the arrests of many of Mississippi's central 
figures in crystal methamphetamine production and distribution, Byrd 
said.

"This was a huge operation," Byrd said. "And it shows meth dealers 
that we're not playing around down here."

Those behind bars include Thomas Dubose, 56, of Lucedale, who was 
linked to the production of as much as 100 pounds of crystal meth 
from 1999 to 2001, the year of his arrest, Byrd said.

Also arrested last year was James Miller, 26, of Lucedale, who is the 
son of George County Sheriff George Miller. The younger Miller stands 
accused of operating behind a fake business front to buy large 
amounts of chemical agents used in the manufacture of crystal meth, 
Byrd said.

The investigation spanned over five states, including California and 
Florida, where suppliers would load up on "commercial grade" 
narcotics and smuggle the drugs back to Mississippi for local 
distribution.

The arrest sheets, and the stories behind them, at times seem more 
likely to resemble a Hollywood film script than real life. Among the 
cast of characters are a prostitute and four brash Samoans from 
California, one of whom later had his prison sentence more than 
doubled after making disparaging comments to a state judge, Byrd said.

The sweep began as a local investigation, but soon branched out to 
include other states, such as Washington, Alabama and Arizona.

"There were a lot of names that just kept coming up," Byrd said.

In all, the investigation tracked the production and sale of more 
than 300 pounds of crystal meth, which held a street value of more 
than $13 million, Byrd said.

Some arrests are still pending, but authorities say those targeted 
are aware of their fate.

The investigation stalled shortly in late 1999, but two subsequent 
arrests of some key George County figures soon "got the ball rolling 
again," Byrd said.

Agencies involved with the investigation, which won a national award, 
include the HIDTA division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, the 
Jackson County Narcotics Task Force, the Mississippi Bureau of 
Narcotics and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, among 
others.
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