Paw Paw, Mich.-Thieves believed to be shopping for methamphetamine ingredients probably thought they had a real haul when they hooked up and pulled away a two-ton anhydrous ammonia tank from a farm field in Van Buren County late last month. The tank was found abandoned a couple of days later about two or three miles from the site where it had been stolen. “The tank actually was almost empty when it was taken away,” Van Buren County Sheriff’s Deputy Ron Douglas told Green Markets, “but the suspects thought that it was full because the gauge was defective and read 100 percent full.” He said the tank was found covered with a tarp and the tires on the trailer were flattened, indicating the thieves had planned to return and try to empty what ammonia remained. Douglas said that no one has been arrested, and that the case continues to be under investigation. He and other deputies responded early on Memorial Day to the theft report in Bloomingdale Township. A farmer had called in a report that he had been using the tank of anhydrous ammonia to fertilize his corn field, left it there Sunday night, and discovered Monday morning that the tank was missing. Desk Sgt. Wayne Polomcak said meth thefts like this occur in the Van Buren area but are not as common as they have been in other agriculture areas, possibly because of an aggressive anti-meth program at the state level.
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