Gilbert: Meth labs back on rise

By HEATHER PYLES, CJ Staff Writer
Commonwealth Journal

October 07, 2008 06:51 am

— Methamphetamine labs are increasing substantially in the local area despite strict regulations that make it more difficult to purchase ingredients and equipment used to manufacture the illicit drug.
David Gilbert, director of the Lake Cumberland Area Drug Task Force (LCADTF), said his agency has seen methamphetamine labs explode in numbers this year compared to 2007 in Pulaski, McCreary and Wayne counties.
And there are several reasons behind that increase, according to Gilbert.
Despite regulations that have taken effect in an effort to make purchasing the methamphetamine precursor pseudoephedrine more difficult for meth manufacturers, Gilbert said “cooks” are using individuals to purchase the ingredient in pharmacies and other equipment in retail stores instead of doing the buying themselves.
“Locally, meth cooks are getting a lot of young people and even middle-aged people to enter local pharmacies and purchase pseudoephedrine products,” Gilbert said.
A database called MethCheck, used by many pharmacies now as a tool to keep track of how much pseudoephedrine individuals are buying in a certain time period, has made it more difficult to buy the quantity of pseudoephedrine needed to manufacture meth.
But it hasn’t stopped it completely. As of July 1, 2008, the LCADTF – which handles mid- and upper-level drug offenders, dismantled 11 methamphetamine labs, up from the seven busts the agency had in 2007. Forty cases have been opened into meth manufacturing since July 1.
Gilbert said those people who do the purchasing for the cooks receive cash payments for the act, or they may receive a sampling of the finished methamphetamine product.
Gilbert emphasized that those purchasers are considered just as dangerous as the meth manufacturers themselves.
“If those purchases are going to meth labs, those individuals will be charged with conspiracy or facilitation of manufacturing meth,” which is a Class-B felony, Gilbert said. A repeated offense is considered a Class-A felony and can result in a prison term of 20 years to life.
An undercover agent with LCADTF who asked not to be named said the difference between a normal customer and a customer searching for enough pseudoephedrine to use in the meth manufacturing process is easily seen.
“A general customer will only ask for as much pseudoephedrine as they can get by on,” he said.
Gilbert noted that many meth arrests come after complaints from local citizens are logged. The equipment used in manufacturing the drug is readily available at retail stores, but the quantities needed can raise some eyebrows, especially among those who recognize the characteristics of a meth purchase.
“I think it’s safe to say we’re at an increase,” the agent said after he described the increase in citizen complaints that have come in recently.
Those hoping to stockpile enough pseudoephedrine to make methamphetamine will usually ask for the highest count that is legally available, which is a 96-count box.
As the only precursor ingredient used in manufacturing meth, nothing else can be used in place of pseudoephedrine, which is normally used as a decongestant.
“Pseudoephedrine is the only thing (meth cooks) can’t bypass or replace,” the agent said.
Gilbert said several methamphetamine manufacturers have also been released from prison in the last several months, which has led to an increase in meth availability in the local market.
“It’s definitely impacting the illegal source of drugs in the area,” Gilbert said. “We’re now getting complaints that (the manufacturers) are back to cooking again.”
Gilbert also named the decreased availability of methamphetamine manufactured in Mexico due to stricter border regulations as another reason why local labs have increased sharply.
“I haven’t seen Mexican meth in the last nine months in the three-county area,” Gilbert said.
Methamphetamine is known as one of the most dangerous drugs to manufacture, and Gilbert said around 70 percent of the labs the LCADTF dismantles are located in residential areas.
Numerous meth lab explosions have made local and national headlines, and small children who may come in contact with the drug are sometimes affected.
Up until July 1 of this year, five small children have been affected by meth labs in the three-county area the LCADTF covers.
Around 30 percent of labs the LCADTF dismantles are found on government land, such as in the Daniel Boone National Forest.
“That is also a problem because of the environment,” Gilbert said.
Gilbert said his agency is stepping up investigations into meth complaints, and he said individuals involved in every step of the manufacturing process can see serious consequences.
“These individuals are going to prison if they continue to buy pseudoephedrine and go to hardware stores to buy the equipment for (meth manufacturers),” Gilbert said. “They’re going to see the same consequences.
“Even though these people are not in a lab,” he continued, “they’re just as guilty as the person that’s holding the jars.”
The Lake Cumberland Area Drug Task Force is made up of officers from the Kentucky State Police, Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department and the Somerset Police Department.

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