Thread: Bust Nets 20 Pounds Of Meth

Bust Nets 20 Pounds Of Meth
Officials Say Meth Still Problem In Iowa

POSTED: 4:10 pm CDT September 6, 2007
UPDATED: 4:38 pm CDT September 6, 2007

DES MOINES, Iowa -- A federal grand jury has indicted nearly two-dozen people accused in a huge methamphetamine ring.

Federal officials Thursday announced the bust that targeted meth headed for Des Moines streets.

A few years ago, it was a big deal when police sealed off an area after finding a meth lab. It quickly became commonplace, and now it rarely happens.

But Thursday's announcement of a huge meth bust shows Iowa's meth problem is anything but over.

"I would say it's a significant meth supplier. It's a multi-pound a week organization," said U.S. Attorney Matthew Whitaker.

Whitaker joined federal and state drug agents in announcing the bust. It led to charges against 22 people, netted a lot of cash, several guns and some 20 pounds of meth.

"The destination was Des Moines, Iowa. It was not just picked off the Interstate as it was driving through. This was the end destination," Whitaker said.

The reason drug agents said they see so much meth coming into Iowa is because they're seeing fewer meth labs in Iowa.

A recent law regulating a key over-the-counter cold medicine ingredient called psuedoephedrine, which is also a key meth ingredient, appears to have dramatically cut the number of Iowa meth labs, NewsChannel 8 reported.

In 2004, the state logged 1,500 meth lab incidents. The pseudoephedrine law took effect in May of 2005, and meth lab incidents plummeted. Last year, they decreased by 75 percent from 2004.

The latest bust shows there may be fewer meth labs in Iowa, but there's still a demand for the drug.

"We routinely get questions, 'Well, the meth lab problem is subsided, it's 90 percent reduction, Iowa doesn't have a meth problem.' Well, that's definitely incorrect. And today this case is an example of why," said Ken Carter, of the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement.

Drug agents are still searching for five of 22 people indicted. Seventeen of the 22 are from Mexico, and they're also accused of being in the U.S. illegally.

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Iowa police log major meth bust

Published: Sept. 7, 2007 at 7:15 PM

DES MOINES, Iowa, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- Police in Des Moines, Iowa, have announced they arrested 17 people and seized more than 20 tons of methamphetamines during a series of raids last month.

The Aug. 17 raids in Des Moines and Urbandale netted $576,000 in cash and several firearms, The Des Moines Register reported. Authorities said they broke up a major methamphetamine distribution ring that had been operating in the area since January 2006.

A federal grand jury in Des Moines Thursday indicted 20 suspects in connection with the operation.

Most of the suspects were immigrants from Mexico. Seventeen of them entered the United States illegally, authorities said.

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2 ... bust/3106/