Metro

NY state police report jump in number of meth lab busts this year

ALBANY, NY — New York state police say they’re responding to far more reports of methamphetamine labs this year than last.

They say that troopers answered 45 reports of labs making the illegal amphetamines last year, compared with more than 100 so far in 2012.

Authorities in Troop E, which covers 10 counties in western New York, say their total has risen from 17 last year to 20 through September.

The agency has a special unit that goes to clandestine drug labs, called the Contaminated Crime Scene Emergency Response Team, and plans to discuss some of its work at a news conference on Oct. 5 in Batavia.