Meth lab investigations doubled this year in Central New York
-->By: Jennifer Lee
Updated: November 15, 2012
It was bath salts, now police say another street drug is on the rise. Officials say they've seen a spike in the number of clandestine drug labs or meth labs.
State Police send in the Contaminated Crime Scene Emergency Response Team or CCSERT to handle these types of investigations.
Officials say the majority of these meth labs are popping up right here in Central New York.
The number of clandestine drug labs or meth labs has more than doubled compare to last year, according to officials. Many of the labs are being found in Oneida, Madison and Oswego Counties.
Back in July, officials responded to a structure fire in Rome. Police say the cause of that fire was a result of a meth lab.
People are also finding new ways to make the drug called the one pot method or shake and bake, cooking the meth in a Gatorade or 2 liter bottle.
"We're seeing an uptick on the number of labs that are found in vehicles. Because it's so simple they literally just put the items in a cardboard box and mix the components while they're driving around," said Capt. Eric Underhill.
Police say the items to make meth are common household item and mixing those components together can be very dangerous and flammable.
And people aren't just cooking to make profit, police say it's for personal use.
Through these meth investigations, authorities say these cooks are teaching and using friends and family to help- also known as smurfing.
"They rely on their friends and other users and family members and go to the drug stores to purchase the Sudafed they need to make the meth so they are smurfing or using smurfs to buy the precursor to manufacture the meth," said Lt. Mary Clark.
Sudafed is one of the ingredients that go into making meth. A federal law was passed back in 2005 to limit the amount of Sudafed a person can buy. Now, you must provide identification when buying the medication.
Police say cooks are disposing the mobile labs in dumpsters and even on the side of the road which is a hazard to children and other people.
Police say it's also costly for the state when calling out the response team. They say it can be two to five thousand dollars every time it happens.
