DEA Agent Talks About Meth Problem in Northwest Arkansas
By: Liz Hogan
Updated: October 3, 2012
"Officers got here and could smell a meth lab in the vehicle and could visually see it inside there," said Sgt. David Undiano with the Bentonville Police Department.
Saturday night investigators lay plastic bottles and chemicals out on the ground outside a Centerton apartment complex. Inside the bottles were the ingredients for a dangerous recipe.
"They have a chemical reaction going on and at some point they have to be vented and if they don't vent, you risk an explosion," said Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Tommy Flowers.
It was a one-pot methamphetamine lab. Officers say the drug was actually cooking when they found it inside a truck.
Four people were arrested.
"I know there's a whole lot more out there than what we found, but for me personally, this is my third one pot method this week," Sgt. Undiano said.
"Meth is definitely the predominant drug in this area," said Flowers.
And according to Flowers, it's not going away.
But he says one-pot labs, like the one Bentonville police busted this weekend, are not contributing much to the overall drug supply.
"They don't produce the kind of quantity of meth that you see being brought in from Mexico, and that's by far where most of our stuff comes from."
But agencies like the DEA are working to bust both big and small meth manufacturers.
"It seems like everybody shares information a little better than they used to," Flowers said.
And teamwork is key to cleaning up the meth problem in Northwest Arkansas.
Saturday night investigators lay plastic bottles and chemicals out on the ground outside a Centerton apartment complex. Inside the bottles were the ingredients for a dangerous recipe.
"They have a chemical reaction going on and at some point they have to be vented and if they don't vent, you risk an explosion," said Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Tommy Flowers.
It was a one-pot methamphetamine lab. Officers say the drug was actually cooking when they found it inside a truck.
Four people were arrested.
"I know there's a whole lot more out there than what we found, but for me personally, this is my third one pot method this week," Sgt. Undiano said.
"Meth is definitely the predominant drug in this area," said Flowers.
And according to Flowers, it's not going away.
But he says one-pot labs, like the one Bentonville police busted this weekend, are not contributing much to the overall drug supply.
"They don't produce the kind of quantity of meth that you see being brought in from Mexico, and that's by far where most of our stuff comes from."
But agencies like the DEA are working to bust both big and small meth manufacturers.
"It seems like everybody shares information a little better than they used to," Flowers said.
And teamwork is key to cleaning up the meth problem in Northwest Arkansas.
