See the 5-part Investigative Report on Meth Hunter by Emily Matson of WICU12 News (NBC) at: http://www.youtube.com/dagirco

Since April 2006, the investigation of meth labs has become dependent on data gathered from pseudoephedrine purchase logs. This information is used to identify persons gathering pseudoephedrine for the illegal manufacture of methamphetamine (smurfs). Through the use of computer algorithms, Meth Hunter analyzes tens of thousands of data points and discerns the relationships between them that are used to shut down meth rings. Because of the immense volume of data to be processed, this investigative process is impossible under the current system utilizing human analysts. Meth Hunter takes the laboring oar of data analysis to finds smurfs and links them together to reveal their conspiracies.

In last half of 2009 and 2010 the Meth Hunter has been attributed with 24+ indictments involving more than 9 meth labs (investigation descriptions and docket numbers available upon request). The Meth Hunter is used by small local agencies such as the Girard Borough Police Department (PA); state level agencies like the PA OAG BNI; and Federal Agencies like the Washing/Baltimore HIDTA.

How they do it: Meth producing conspiracies organize tightly coordinated rings of ephedrine pill shoppers (smurfs), with controllers monitoring membership, purchase quantities, qualities, times and locations.  Their actions are designed to exploit police departments’ limitations in analyzing the available data.  Meth Hunter breaks through these limitations, addressing the smurfs’ denial and deception tactics, and more.  For the first time, law enforcement will be able to catch up to, and even stay ahead of the smurfing conspiracies.

The Meth Hunter is an analytic program that automates ephedrine purchase log analysis based on the combined experience of The MERIT GROUP developed over decades of meth lab investigation and the intelligence analysis expertise of DAGIR Co.  Without human assistance, the Meth Hunter pinpoints and extracts the most suspicious names from your data logs.  Meth Hunter instantaneously delivers a list of likely ephedrine smurfs that is already sorted by level of suspicion.