Meth Lab Busts Plummet In State’s Former Hot Spot
5.19.15 – Bob Fowler, Knoxville News Sentinel
They are conspicuous in their absence.
Once the scourge of Anderson County — at one point even earning the county the dubious title of the Volunteer State’s methamphetamine lab capital — the illegal drug factories have all but vanished, reports show.
Only three meth labs have been shut down this year in Anderson County, and all of those seizures occurred in January, said Mark Lucas, chief deputy of the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department.
Two and three years ago, it wasn’t uncommon for several meth lab seizures to be listed among sheriff’s department incident reports each week.
Those discoveries ranged from primitive “shake and bake” labs in 2-liter soda bottles discarded next to roadways and in wooded areas to sophisticated, working laboratories in homes.
Meth lab discoveries and seizures in Anderson County peaked in 2012, with 124 actions, and then began declining: 74 in 2013 and 20 last year.
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