Tulsa shatters meth lab record

TULSA - 2011 is proving to be a record year for meth in Tulsa. TPD has busted more than 400 meth labs so far. This is number concerns police, because back in 2007 they busted only 20 meth labs. Since the one pot meth labs started showing up in 2008, the problem has exploded.

"You might think that they are nice people and they have a lab in their house. You just don't know nowadays," says Bob Peterson. He and his wife Sharon live just yards from a home that went up in flames Wednesday night. Firefighters say it was started by several one pot meth labs.

The Peterson's have lived in this north Tulsa neighborhood for 16 years. They don't like what they are seeing.

"As far as the meth labs, it's 10 times worse than it was when we moved in," says Sharon. "In this neighborhood we've had meth labs busted all around us," adds Bob.

But it's not just this area of Tulsa that's seeing this trend. Police say one pot meth labs are being found across Tulsa, even in moving cars.

"It's just tragic that this situation has gotten where it's at," says Officer Leland Ashley.

He tells 2NEWS last year TPD saw a record 323 meth labs. So far this year they've seen 412.  With three weeks left in 2011, Ashley expect to see at least a hundred more labs compared to 2010.

He warns that a spike in meth production leads to a spike in other crimes, such as burglary, robbery and identity theft.

"Drugs really fuel a lot of crime. A lot of times people say that doesn't affect me. But really it does," says Ashley. "It affects each and everyone of us."

That's exactly what has happened in Peterson's neighborhood. Sharon has been robbed twice her driveway. The couple's home has been burglarized twice.

Unfortunately, the Peterson's know the problem isn't going away. Sharon says, "I'm sick of it. I'm still of it all."

Officer Ashley says the worst maybe yet to come. "You can just imagine, if we are seeing 412 now, what are we going to see next year?"

While Tulsa County has more labs than any other county in the state, the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics expects to see more than 900 meth labs busts state-wide by the end of 2011. Most of them are one pot meth labs and have been found in Northeast Oklahoma.