Fighting back against an explosion of illegal methamphetamine labs in Putnam County, Sheriff Mark Smith has set up an anonymous hotline for citizens to report meth labs.

That number is: 304-586-0263.

This is what you will hear when you call:"You have reached the Putnam County Sheriff Department anonymous tip line. There's no caller ID,  and we don't need your name. Please leave your information at the sound of the tone." 

If you suspect meth activity in your neighborhood, you are encouraged to anonymously call and help law enforcement rid Putnam County of meth labs.

The hotline is modeled after a similar program in Kanawha County that has resulted in numerous arrests closing down several meth labs in the short time the hotline has been operating there.

"This is something we have been working toward" says Smith, "And I am pleased to say that we now have this available for the citizens of Putnam County to assist us in the ongoing war on drugs."

Smith says his department received several tips about meth labs in the first few hours that the hotline was operational.

Meth labs have kept law enforcement very busy in recent years in Putnam County. Several years ago there were only two meth lab arrests here. Three years ago that number jumped to 14. In 2003 there were 28 meth lab busts. In 2004 there were 37.

Each meth lab contains potentially explosive materials and costs about $1,500 to clean up. That doesn't include the extra manpower dollars, nor the impact on the court system which saw a more than 50-percent jump in cases last year.

These are just some of the reasons why Smith wants to eliminate meth labs from Putnam County. But he needs your help-anonymously, he stresses."There is no caller-ID, we do not need your name, only your information," says Smith who hopes the information will help his department drive meth labs out of Putnam County. "There's only one thing to do and that's confront the problem. and we're gonna do whatever it takes to deal with it."

That number again is: 304-586-0263.