Pubdate: Sun, 21 Apr 2002 Source: Chattanooga Times Free Press (TN) Copyright: 2002 Chattanooga Publishing Co. Contact: http://www.timesfreepress.com/index.html Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/992 Author: Kimberly Greuter OFFICERS RECEIVE TRAINING TO CLEAN UP METH LABS Last week, 45 law officers from East Tennessee, North Georgia and Alabama completed training that taught them how to secure and dismantle the highly toxic methamphetamine labs they encounter in the region. The training at the Hamilton County Sheriff's Annex was paid for through the Southeast Tennessee Methamphetamine Task Force, which has been in existence for three years and covers 18 counties. Task force funding allowed the training to be held locally instead of in Quantico, Va., said Ben Scott, resident agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration office in Chattanooga. With the 45 officers who graduated, there are about 80 officers in the area certified to process the seizure and dismantling of meth labs, Agent Scott said. The officers attended a weeklong training session in which they received clothes, equipment and instruments to safely enter and dismantle a lab. "The labs are everywhere, so the more people we have certified, the quicker the response," Agent Scott said. He said law enforcement agencies that do not have a certified officer to dismantle a meth lab have to contact other agencies and wait for them to send personnel. U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., who helped secure the federal grant for the task force and was at Friday's graduation ceremony, called methamphetamine "a cancer from within." "This methamphetamine threat is a major threat that destroys lives and breaks apart families," he said. Officials said they are making strides in the fight against methamphetamine, but the battle isn't won yet. "The local law enforcement people see promise because of the efforts," said Russ Dedrick, first assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee. "We think there's been a significant drop. It might be a little too early to say for sure." The meth task force started out as a collaboration of local law enforcement agencies seeking to share resources in the battle against meth, Mr. Dedrick said. A $1 million annual grant was secured, and officials have applied for money for next year to continue the task force. "The heart and the key is the spirit of the state, local and federal agencies working together," Mr. Dedrick said. Officials said the number of lab seizures has declined, but meth manufacturing is still a major problem in the area, especially in rural counties. Agent Scott said labs still are being located daily. "It's one of those things that's ingrained in a lot of communities, and it's easy to make," he said. "You put one or two in jail, and their buddies pick up where they left off." There were 400 labs in Tennessee taken down in the last year, 75 percent of which were dismantled by the task force, Mr. Dedrick said. More than 200 federal indictments related to methamphetamine were filed in Eastern Tennessee in the last fiscal year. Officials also are turning to the public to educate them on the warning signs that someone is using meth or may be purchasing large quantities of materials to make the drug. "People normally scared to share information are coming forward," said Meigs County Sheriff Walter Hickman, who had the first officer in his department certified in last week's training. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens