WHERE YOU FIND DRUGS, YOU'LL FIND CRIME

By B. Ray Owen

Methamphetamine usage and manufacturing has taken root in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois.

"Meth is suddenly in the drug spotlight in Missouri," said Sgt. Kevin Glaser, a member of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and coordinator of the SEMO Drug Task Force.

The meth drug problem has created a number of other crimes in both states, committed by addicts who would do anything to get cocaine or meth.

Burglaries, robberies and prostitution have increased.

Illinois is beginning to feel the pressure from Missouri, with cooking labs moving into that state.

"Wherever you find drugs, you'll find crime," said Harlan Coffman, sheriff of Union County in Southern Illinois. Coffman says as many 55 percent of crimes can be linked to drugs.

Other law enforcement officials agree.

Meth `highs' last longer, said Cape Girardeau County Sheriff John Jordan. "It makes users do things they normally wouldn't do. They steal, they rob and at the `tweaking' stage of a high, they can become dangerous."

"Violence increases because of meth," said Glaser. "Meth users become paranoid. They tend to lose their jobs, and they turn to crime. Usually, they find a weapon to help them get what they want."

Cape Girardeau Police Chief Rick Hetzel said that many crimes here are linked to drugs.

"If we impact illicit drugs, we will impact other crime areas as well," Hetzel said.

Meth, also called crank, speed, crystal and ice, has suddenly become a bigger problem drug in Missouri, where "home-made" meth has taken hold.

The meth epidemic has produced new types of crime throughout the area. The latest crime is the theft of anhydrous ammonia down on the farm, or at farm service companies.

"This is the first year we've been bothered with the fertilizer thefts," said Coffman.

"You can always find a tank of the stuff somewhere," said Ronnie Deprow, who was arrested in November of 1996 after eight months of being one of a meth manufacturer in Southeast Missouri.

"When we needed the anhydrous ammonia, we'd look for the large white tanks, or we'd tap a business that sold the stuff to farmers," said Deprow who is now serving time in prison.

Tom McNamara is director of the Southern Illinois Enforcement Group.

Working with anhydrous ammonia distributors, McNamara's group has been in on a number of arrests for theft of anhydrous ammonia. A number of suspects have been apprehended in tank storage areas.

Anhydrous ammonia thieves commonly use propane gas containers, plastic coolers, and even steel-rimed mason jars to steal the fertilizer.

Many farmers in Missouri and Illinois have discovered rubber hoses, wrenches and tools scattered around a pilfered tank.

In some cases, the thieves bleed off small amounts of anhydrous ammonia from the tanks in the field, or distributor yards, and leave, say authorities. In other cases, the thieves cut the hoses, take what they need and let the rest drain out on the ground.

The Fruit Belt Farm Service of Anna, with locations at Anna, Ullin and Ware, has been tapped several times this year.

Also hit during the spring was Randy Myers Farm Service near Jonesboro, Ill. The fertilizer is primarily used in the spring, say officials. Some distributors don't carry the fertilizer any other time of the year.

"We've had three cases recently of anhydrous theft on the farm," said Perry County Sheriff Gary Shaaf. "In these cases, the stuff was taken by from people outside of Perry County.

Perry County recorded one meth lab bust during the past two years.

"Although we have had only one meth lab bust here, the problem has been responsible for some crime activity in the county," said Shaaf.

Shaaf is president of the SEMO Drug Task Force Executive Board.

The SEMO task force was in on 71 busts of methamphetamine labs in 1997, resulting in arrests of 183 persons throughout a dozen counties in Southeast Missouri.

"We're devoting a lot of attention to the manufacturing of the meth drug," Glaser said.

Meth use and cooking, has created more work and the need for more manpower for law enforcement authorities.

The bust count so far this year, January through June, is at 33, with 105 arrests. The count does not include Pemiscot, and a portion of Dunklin County, where the Bootheel Drug Task Force keeps count on busts.

No labs were found in Southern Illinois in 1997, but authorities are now finding the cooking operations.

The Southern Illinois Enforcement Group, another drug enforcement agency, has discovered more than a dozen meth labs in Jackson, Union and Williamson counties in 1998, the first year that meth labs were found in Southern Illinois.

The SEMO Drug Task Force, which is funded by federal and local funds, was formed in 1990 to help in the fight against all drugs.

The multi jurisdictional force is comprised of members of several area law enforcement agencies, including the Missouri Highway Patrol and receives 75 percent of its funding from federal sources.

Twenty-five percent of the funding comes from local law enforcement in the form of seized drug money and donations.

In 1996, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) shut down 235 clandestine meth labs in Missouri, 80 more than in California, the perennial leader in methamphetamine manufacturing.

In 1977, the lab bust numbers jumped to 455.

These numbers are not limited to metropolitan areas, although a good number of them were found in the suburb areas of Kansas City.

In Southeast Missouri, a total of 183 arrested were made in 1997, with 144 state prosecutions and 39 federal indictments.