Editor’s Note: Have you taken down a rolling meth lab? Have you seen something new in the area of narcotics concealment? Add your comments below or send us an e-mail with your observations.
When I started working highway drug interdiction in the early 1990’s, the thought — even the possibility — of running across someone “cooking” meth in their vehicle was absurd. In fact, methamphetamine was rarely seen in amounts greater than a few grams.
In the years since then, we’ve seen the meth epidemic grow to a whole new level.
Despite law enforcement’s (and the legislature’s) best attempts, methamphetamine manufacturers continue to adjust their formulas and methods around current laws and product availability. Every time I read about a new method to cook meth I start to wonder if these dope cooks can make this smack out of just about anything. Some of these people can’t even read or write their own names, yet they’re able to cook and manufacture methamphetamine? I’m fairly intelligent human being, but in high school chemistry even I had a hard time figuring out the periodic table. Apparently you don’t need to have passed high school chemistry class to cook meth.
In the early and mid 1970’s, meth “cooking” was a long and tedious process. Cooks had to have lots of sophisticated glassware and a large area to produce the drug. Soon after came along stream lined cooking methods, such as the birch reduction method. Anhydrous ammonia became a popular and necessary chemical in high demand.
Because of legislative efforts and law enforcement’s cooperation with local farmers to curb the availability of anhydrous, the cooks found a way to produce their own ammonia.
As police officers, we continue to respond to meth cooks blowing themselves up in rural barns and trailers, but the new threat is simply to drive down the road in their personal vehicle, and produce small batches of meth with the new shaking method. After they are finished producing a useable amount of the drug, they simply dump all their waste on the side of the road, in public parks, or just about anywhere. Then they simply drive off.
How, then, do we in law enforcement go about discovering and combating these mobile meth labs? By being proactive criminal interdiction officers, of course!
It doesn’t matter their drug of choice, whether they are producing meth in their vehicle or have a load of weed in the trunk, all dope haulers will give themselves away with indicators and body language. Whether you are a lone trooper on a stretch of interstate, a patrol deputy working in rural areas filled with mobile homes, or a beat cop for a municipality, the more proactive, aggressive patrol and traffic enforcement you do will ultimately lead to the discovery of these meth labs and the individuals that do the cooking.
- You have local dopers in your area — start by keeping an extra eye out on their residence and be proactive in stopping any vehicles with violations coming and going from these locations
- Check your department’s arrest records for subjects with histories of methamphetamine possession and production — this will give you a good starting point
- Cooks change their methods with the current trends — we as police officers must stay just as current on new trends as the dirty, smelly, toothless cooks out there
When you do confiscate a rolling lab, do your best to interview the perp, and gather as much information from them about new and current methods so that you can keep up with them. If you are a skilled interviewer and have the ability to build a rapport with these (often less than attractive) individuals, maybe in exchange for teaching them how to spell their own name, they can write down the latest chemical formula for the production of one of the most dangerous drugs in the world and then tell you who else in your jurisdiction is driving down the road stirring the pot or shaking the bottle.
As always, stay safe and go home at the end of your shift.
