Meth labs seizures up 29 percent

Missouri is set once again to lead the nation in the number of methamphetamine lab seizures after the Missouri State Highway Patrol announced the state suffered a 29 percent increase in 2002 over the previous year.

In 2002, Missouri law enforcement agencies reported 2,725 meth lab seizures, which is up from the 2,130 reported in 2001.

The patrol submits seizure reports to the National Clandestine Laboratory Seizure System, which is maintained by the Drug Enforcement Administration at the El Paso Crime Information Center in El Paso, Texas. Final numbers from all 50 states are still being entered into the system and are currently not available.

The top three states in 2001 were Missouri with 2,130 labs, California with 1,715 labs and Washington with 1,477 labs.

Meth lab seizures are classified in three categories: operational/nonoperational labs (39 percent of Missouri's total seizures), chemical/glassware/equipment seizures (33 percent) and lab dump sites (28 percent).

'A very serious problem'

"Meth continues to be a very serious problem for the state of Missouri," said Col. Roger D. Stottlemyre of the patrol. "It's a huge strain on law enforcement man-hours and continues to ruin countless lives."

Missouri's first child fatality as a result to exposure to a meth lab occurred in September, when 11-month old Zarrin Doubet, of Carthage, Mo., died after drinking Coleman camping fuel, allegedly left over from his father's meth lab.

Dennis Doubet, 33, was charged with second-degree murder and manufacturing a controlled substance in connection with his child's death.

New training sessions concerning drug-endangered children were offered to officers in Missouri in 2002. The training focused on handling the growing number of children found at lab sites.

In 2001, 161 children were present when meth labs were seized in Missouri. Nationally in 2001, 2,028 children were present at lab seizures.

Missouri ranked fourth in 2001 in this category, behind California, Washington and Oregon.