Published: April 07, 2008 11:01 pm            

Police need help in finding meth labs

Here’s another reason to get mad about drug abuse: Meth trash.

On a recent two-hour search of one rural Miami County road, state police collected numerous leftovers from the manufacture of methamphetamine.

Officers warn that the trash is not only an eyesore. It can also be dangerous.

Take the tanks used to store anhydrous ammonia.

In 2006, a woman in Fulton County picked up a tank from the side of the road only to be severely burned when the tank sprayed anhydrous ammonia onto her feet.

And then there are the makeshift acid generators used in the final stage of making meth. These plastic bottles contain hydrochloric or sulfuric acid mixed with salt. The bottles usually have a hose or tubing coming from the lid, and anyone who picks one up runs the risk of an acid burn.

Meth is a serious problem in Indiana.

In 2006, state police handled cleanup and processing for 766 meth labs statewide. In 2007, the number had risen to 820, a 7 percent increase.

And police say those numbers represent only the labs investigators have found. The trash along the roadway, they say, is evidence that there are many others they have yet to discover.

There are lots of signs that a house might be home to a meth lab.

The house might receive frequent visitors at all times of the day or night. It might often be the scene of activity late at night.

It might have the windows blacked out, or the curtains might always be drawn. Visitors might drive expensive-looking cars.

The folks who live in the house might be unemployed, but seem to have plenty of money. They might drive expensive cars and pay their bills in cash.

The residents might seem unfriendly or secretive. They might seem suspicious of passing cars.

The residents might often come outside to smoke.

Neighbors might detect chemical odors coming from the house, from trash cans or from detached buildings. The trash might frequently contain numerous bottles and containers such as cold pills, rock salt, starting fluid and camping fuel.

The home’s residents might set out their trash in a neighbor’s collection area.

None of these signs is evidence by itself of illegal activity, police say, but they say a number of these signs together might be reason for suspicion.

Police urge residents never to take the law into their own hands. If you see suspicious activity, call the police and leave the investigation to the professionals.

– Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, and Kokomo Tribune

        

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