Posted on Sat, Jul. 31, 2004
Nazi-style methemphetamine labs new danger in cities
Associated Press
FRESNO, Calif. - Methamphetamine makers in the San Joaquin Valley have begun using a new manufacturing method - one adopted from Nazi Germany, Fresno police say.
The Nazi-style meth labs began showing up about 18 months ago and have since proliferated.
The labs use little or no heat in a process that produces a small supply of the highly addictive drug in one to three hours, instead of the three days needed at larger labs. The process was developed by Nazi scientists producing a stimulant for troops during World War II.
The labs are "smaller, quicker, portable and less detectable" than the traditional labs found mostly in rural areas, said Fresno police Sgt. Alex Flores, supervisor of the major narcotics unit.
As a result, the labs are increasingly being found in San Joaquin Valley cities in a region that federal authorities say has been supplying much of the nation with the drug.
Fresno police discovered five of the labs in the last year, four of them since January, and believe there are plenty more out there.
They don't carry the distinctive odor that often draws attention to the traditional labs.
"If you're getting an odor, it's going to be very brief and able to be masked," Flores told the Fresno Bee.
The labs can be even more dangerous than the highly volatile traditional manufacturing process because it uses lithium metal as a key ingredient to shorten the cooking time. Lithium, often used in batteries, is explosive in humid conditions.
"The potential danger for the neighborhood is extreme," Flores said. "It's extremely hazardous."
In May, a Nazi-style lab in Kingsburg blew up a day before police planned a raid. There were no injuries, but a pump house was destroyed.
After they're done, meth cookers often simply dump the remaining dangerous chemicals into neighbors' trash bins or down a drain into the water or sewer systems.
The labs also take up less space than the bulky traditional labs.
"They just box them up and tuck them away," Flores said.
One found at a Fresno home last fall fit into three plastic picnic coolers. Nearby, police found a 21-page cookbook, complete with historical background on the method.
"This is the exact drug that Hitler used on his troops in WWII to make them fight for days on end," the document said.
Information from: The Fresno Bee