Missouri leads nation in meth lab busts

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- It may be an honor, but it's one the state would happily do without: Missouri is the nation's leader in busting methamphetamine labs.

Last year Missouri seized 1,599 labs, according to figures released last week by the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The state passed California -- which tallied 1,472 -- for the first time.

That doesn't necessarily mean the state has more methamphetamine than any other. Labs in California produce pounds at a time, while illegal labs in Missouri produce the drug in gram-sized quantities.

"We will go after any lab here; California can't," said Doug Seneker, sheriff of Lawrence County, which continues to make meth enforcement a priority. "California is so overwhelmed, oftentimes they don't get to the mom and pops."

The highway patrol's Troop D, which covers 18 counties in southwest Missouri, found more labs than any of the state's other eight patrol troops.

Two Southwest Missouri counties -- Jasper and Christian -- were leaders in lab busts. Jasper was No. 1 with 119 labs seized, and Christian ranked fourth with 64. The state has 114 counties.

"And we're only going off the numbers of the ones we find," said Christian County Sheriff Joey Matlock.

Fields, trucks, hotels

Missouri's high ranking means that more people in the state are caught brewing the stimulant in rural fields, in the backs of pickup trucks and inside hotel rooms. Southwest Missouri also has been dealing with the mobile meth labs longer than most states. That means officers have had plenty of practice in detecting labs.

"Most investigators have quite a few labs under their belts," said Kirk Manlove, Springfield police spokesman. "Pretty soon you get better and better at what you do through experience."