Mobile Meth Labs on the Rise

Undercover drug detectives with the Boone County Sheriff’s Department say it is getting harder to crack down on meth labs because the labs are more mobile than ever before.Despite the challenge, detectives are still getting their hands on the traveling meth labs. In fact, Missouri leads the country in meth busts.For the past five years, the state has had the most meth busts in the country. Law enforcement say it’s because they make finding meth labs their priority.”It’s a never-ending battle,” said Det. Tom O’Sullivan of the Boone County Sheriff’s Department. “We’ve got guys that this is their main focus.”Drug detectives look for telltale signs of meth use, like everyday household items. However, the evidence used to be prevalent in a suspect’s trash but now suspects drive around and make meth in their cars.Boone County Sheriff’s deputies did make an arrest Wednesday on a mobile meth lab inside a car they pulled over in a Columbia shopping center.”Inside the car, we found gas generator, tubing, we found some acid,” said Det. O’Sullivan.Last year, more than 9,000 meth labs were busted in the U.S. and about 1,500 of them happened in Missouri. Indiana came in second, but Missouri accounted for 17 percent of all the meth lab busts in the nation.”I don’t think it’s only here in Missouri, but you may hear more about it because of the efforts of law enforcement,” said Det. O’Sullivan.An undercover drug detective says most of the arrests they make in Boone County are addiction-driven and people who are making the drugs for personal use.Last year, Boone County had the second highest number of meth lab busts in Mid-Missouri. The most busts came out of Phelps County.