ATVS ENLISTED IN METH BATTLE

PASCAGOULA - Jackson County's Narcotics Task Force is taking a different tack in the war on methamphatime labs, especially the ones in the rural, wooded areas.

They have asked the county to take bids on six all-terrain vehicles, "four-wheelers," to help agents tromp through brush in search of illegal labs hidden off the beaten path.

The little vehicles are sturdy, strong and relatively swift.

Louie Miller, director of the task force, said Monday, while at the Jackson County Board of Supervisors meeting, that at the present officers are hiking to remote locations looking for the labs.

"They'll be in wooded areas or on riverbanks," Miller said.  "The only way to get to them is by hiking through the woods a good way, and then we can't get the stuff out."

The illegal drug is often made in makeshift labs where people combine volatile and dangerous chemicals.

Miller said the four-wheelers would help not only in the search for the labs but also in clearing them out once they are found.  The vehicles would make it safer to move the chemicals to a major roadway once a lab is busted.

"It would keep contamination down," Miller said.

He said his officers often cover a great deal of territory looking for a lab, which are hidden in remote areas because they produce a strong chemical smell that can be easily detected.

"The thing is, you can't take a patrol car out there," said Sheriff Mike Byrd.  "You'll tear it up."

The request for bids came before the Board of Supervisors on Monday.  Money for the six vehicles, expected to cost roughly $39,000, was budgeted this year and will be paid for with federal methamphetamine grant money.