Huge "Meth Head" Bust in Tipton County

Tipton County - The Tipton County Sheriff's Department cast a wide net and caught a number of meth users and dealers on Tuesday.

The youngest of the 16 suspects rounded up across Tipton County on meth charges in one day is 20 years old. The oldest is 54.

County Sheriff Pancho Chumley and the rest of the community are sick of the meth business, "Meth heads want to wait till they get caught, then want to try and straighten their life up then. Too Late! I don't have time for that either. They should have started before I got involved because it's costing taxpayers money."

But frustrated or not, Chumley says he and his department are more aggressive than ever. He says they're using every angle they can to catch meth makers and suppliers, one of which is pseudoephedrine logs.

"Whenever they go up and buy, they have to sign for it," says Chumley.

Chumley says the people buying drugs with pseudoephedrine, the main ingredient in meth, don't always think about changing the pharmacies they buy from. He says no matter where they are, the purchase of pseudoephedrine is tracked and logged for law enforcement.

"It gives an address and everything. We go right there. It's like fishing in a boat," he says.

Pseudoephedrine logs are the result of strict legislation that passed against meth making statewide in 2005 and have continued to be a valuable resource to law enforcement.

Chumley doesn't play around when it comes to addicts either, "They can say whatever they want, but the people buying the pills are just as guilty as the people cooking the meth."

Those busted for promoting the manufacturing of meth on Tuesday are accused of buying pills, using meth, making it, or a combination of all three.

In addition to recovering meth and materials to make, investigators found a rifle with the serial number removed.