A Daviess County business has taken the latest step towards protecting local citizens from ongoing methamphetamine production. Traylor Fertilizer Service has made a large investment in a tamper-proof lock called the Valve U Lock — a lock designed to safeguard anhydrous ammonia tanks from being broken into. Anhydrous is a key component in the production of meth. Thieves have to get it somewhere before they can make a batch. So theft of anhydrous is usually under the cover of darkness from an anhydrous tank either sitting in a farmer’s field or still at the distributor’s plant.

Traylor Fertilizer has its tanks under 24-hour surveillance cameras. Their storage area for the tanks is located away from the office so there isn’t always somebody watching the area. The thefts became so frequent they decided to invest in the surveillance cameras. But the thieves were still at it — and frequently. That was when Greg and Brian Traylor decided to take prevention one step further.

Greg had been researching the locks on the Internet looking for the best and most secure lock on the market. He was impressed with the design of the Valve U Lock. A sales representative for Klingler Enterprises out of Bryan, Ohio, paid them a visit and brought the lock with him. The Traylor brothers were both so impressed with the durability of the lock they decided to purchase 73 of them for all of their anhydrous tanks.

The Valve U Lock consists of a nurse tank locking device and a padlock. The padlock itself is tamper-proof. It can’t be picked, shot or cut off. It is made of an extremely high grade of stainless steel. The steel locking device has been hardened to tooling steel. The nurse tank lock itself does not prevent theft without a padlock.

So if a farmer gets his anhydrous tank from Traylors, he will either need to put his own padlock on it or purchase a lock from Traylors. They can order them for anyone interested and will sell them for $15 each. The locks will be painted to differentiate customers from Traylors’.

Greg Traylor said, “This really wasn’t the year to make a large investment like this with no return. But we felt responsible to do it for the protection of our community. It’s not the cost of the theft that worries us most, but the damage to the community and our kids in it.”

One trip to check the tanks resulted in Brian Traylor’s truck bed completely full of LP tanks, hoses, bottles and duffel bags. It was loaded with leftover supplies from meth-makers stealing anhydrous.

“This had accumulated over the course of a year along the railroad bank next to the plant,” he said

Traylors’ cameras recorded one man stealing anhydrous from the tanks one night. He had parked a long distance away and walked there so no one would see him drive up. He was caught and denied it. When told his picture was on tape he confessed and was prosecuted. Without the cameras he probably would have gotten off.

Traylors and other fertilizer dealers carry anhydrous for local corn farmers. Anhydrous is a form of nitrogen needed for the corn to produce maximum yields.

So far the locks have been on for only a few weeks and Traylors haven’t seen any type of tampering with them. And that’s a good thing. Thefts were occurring frequently before the locks were put on. Farmers will be able to sleep easier at night if they decide to use the locks.

Dan Murrie, Daviess County deputy prosecutor said, “I am excited that a private business is taking the initiative to get this going in Daviess County. I knew these locks existed, but hadn’t seen them until now. A very large percentage of the cases prosecuted are drug-related. Traylors are taking it upon themselves to get this started for the protection of our area.”

Ron Morgan, a detective and chief deputy with the Daviess County Sheriff’s Department, reiterated Murrie’s feelings.

“I applaud Traylor’s for taking this on. It will deter thieves from stealing from them. I would like to challenge other distributors to invest in these locks also. I would like to see our farmers use them too. Seventy to eighty percent of the people we have incarcerated right now are for drug-related charges.”