The illegal
drug market in the United States is one of the most profitable
in the world. As such, it attracts the most ruthless,
sophisticated, and aggressive drug traffickers. Drug law
enforcement agencies face an enormous challenge in protecting
the country's borders. Each year, according to the U.S. Customs
Service, 60 million people enter the United States on more than
675,000 commercial and private flights. Another 6 million come
by sea and 370 million by land. In addition, 116 million
vehicles cross the land borders with Canada and Mexico. More
than 90,000 merchant and passenger ships dock at U.S. ports.
These ships carry more than 9 million shipping containers and
400 million tons of cargo. Another 157,000 smaller vessels visit
our many coastal towns. Amid this voluminous trade, drug
traffickers conceal cocaine, heroin, marijuana, MDMA, and
methamphetamine shipments for distribution in U.S.
neighborhoods.
Diverse groups
traffic and distribute illegal drugs. Criminal groups operating
from South America smuggle cocaine and heroin into the United
States via a variety of routes, including land routes through
Mexico, maritime routes along Mexico's east and west coasts, sea
routes through the Caribbean, and international air corridors.
Furthermore, criminal groups operating from neighboring Mexico
smuggle cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, amphetamine, and
marijuana into the United States. These criminal groups have
smuggled heroin and marijuana across the Southwest Border and
distributed them throughout the United States since the 1970s.
In addition to distributing cocaine and methamphetamine in the
West and Midwest, these Mexico-based groups now are attempting
to expand the distribution of those drugs into eastern U.S.
markets.
Likewise, the
use of the drug 3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), also
known on the street as "Ecstasy," has increased at an alarming
rate in the United States over the last several years. Israeli
and Russian drug trafficking syndicates and Western Europe-based
drug traffickers are the principal traffickers of MDMA
worldwide. MDMA, primarily manufactured clandestinely in Western
Europe, is smuggled into the United States by couriers via
commercial airlines, as well as through the use of express
package carriers. Finally, criminal groups based in Southeast
and Southwest Asia smuggle heroin into the United States. Using
New York City as a major distribution hub, these criminal groups
move heroin up and down the eastern seaboard and into the
Midwest.
Besides these
criminal groups based abroad, domestic organizations cultivate,
produce, manufacture, or distribute illegal drugs such as
marijuana, methamphetamine, phencyclidine (PCP), and lysergic
acid diethyamide (LSD). By growing high-potency sinsemilla,
domestic cannabis growers provide marijuana that easily competes
with other illegal drugs. With demand for methamphetamine
remaining high, especially in the West and Midwest, so, too,
does the number of illicit laboratories that supply
methamphetamine to a growing number of addicts. Additionally, a
small number of chemists manufacture LSD that is subsequently
distributed primarily to high school and college students
throughout the United States.
COCAINE
Cocaine
trafficking and abuse continue to threaten the health and safety
of American citizens. According to drug abuse indicators, the
use of both powder and crack cocaine have stabilized, albeit at
high levels. The trafficking, distribution, and abuse of cocaine
and crack cocaine have spread from urban environments to smaller
cities and suburban areas of the country, bringing a
commensurate increase in violence and criminal activity. The
level of violence associated with cocaine trafficking today,
however, does not compare to the rampant violence of the 1980s
when the crack epidemic was at its worst.
Trafficking by
Colombian and Mexican Organizations
The
U.S./Mexico border is the primary point of entry for cocaine
shipments being smuggled into the United States. According to a
recent interagency intelligence assessment, approximately 65
percent of the cocaine smuggled into the United States crosses
the Southwest border. Cocaine is readily available in nearly all
major cities in the United States. Organized crime groups
operating in Colombia control the worldwide supply of cocaine.
These organizations use a sophisticated infrastructure to move
cocaine by land, sea, and air into the United States. In the
United States, these Colombia-based groups operate cocaine
distribution and drug money laundering networks comprising a
vast infrastructure of multiple cells functioning in many major
metropolitan areas. Each cell performs a specific function
within the organization, e.g., transportation, local
distribution, or money movement. Key managers in Colombia
continue to oversee the overall operation.
Over the past
decade, the Colombia-based drug groups have allowed Mexico-based
trafficking organizations to play an increasing role in the U.S.
cocaine trade. Throughout most of the 1980s, the criminals in
Colombia used the drug smugglers in Mexico to transport cocaine
shipments across the Southwest border into the United States.
After successfully smuggling the drugs across the border, the
Mexican transporters transferred the drugs back to the Colombian
groups operating in the United States. However, the seizure of
nearly 21 metric tons of cocaine in 1989 led to a new
arrangement between transportation organizations operating from
Mexico and the organized crime groups operating from Colombia.
This new arrangement radically changed the role and sphere of
influence of the Mexico-based trafficking organizations in the
U.S. cocaine trade. By the mid-1990s, Mexico-based
transportation groups were receiving up to half the cocaine
shipment they smuggled for the Colombia-based groups in exchange
for their services. Both sides realized that this strategy
eliminated the vulnerabilities and complex logistics associated
with large cash transactions. The Colombia-based groups also
realized that relinquishing part of each cocaine shipment to
their associates operating from Mexico ceded a share of the
wholesale cocaine market in the United States.
Today,
traffickers operating from Colombia continue to control
wholesale-level cocaine distribution throughout the heavily
populated northeastern United States and along the eastern
seaboard in cities such as Boston, Miami, Newark, New York, and
Philadelphia. There are indications, however, that other drug
trafficking organizations are playing a larger role in the
distribution of cocaine in conjunction with the Colombian
organizations. Dominican drug trafficking organizations have
traditionally been responsible for the street-level distribution
of cocaine. The DEA Philadelphia Field Division reports that the
primary sources of supply for cocaine in the city are Colombian
and Dominican organizations, which are capable of moving
multikilogram quantities. The DEA Boston Field Division reports
that Dominican traffickers are expanding their roles in cocaine
distribution, and have been instrumental in obtaining
multikilogram quantities of cocaine for distribution in New
England. In New York City, Colombian, Dominican, and Mexican
drug trafficking organizations distribute multikilogram
quantities of cocaine. Furthermore, Mexican drug trafficking
organizations are increasingly responsible for the
transportation of cocaine from the Southwest border to the New
York market.
Traffickers
operating from Mexico now control wholesale cocaine distribution
throughout the western and midwestern United States.
Mexico-based trafficking groups in cities such as Chicago,
Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Diego, San
Francisco, and Seattle control the distribution of multiton
quantities of cocaine, once dominated by the Colombia-based drug
groups. In the early 1990s, when the organized crime groups from
Mexico were expanding their roles as cocaine transporters and
wholesale-level distributors, most of their U.S.-based command
and control operations were in southern California. Today,
Chicago is also a key command and control center for their
cocaine operations, and Atlanta is increasingly important as a
trafficking hub for cocaine movement. Currently, these
traffickers control cocaine shipments from the time they are
smuggled across the border until they are distributed to markets
across the country.
The role of
Mexico-based trafficking organizations is continuing to evolve.
Recent reports suggest that some major international criminals
in Colombia are further distancing themselves from day-to-day
wholesale-level cocaine distribution in the United States by
turning this task over, at least occasionally, to the
organizations operating from Mexico. A likely motivation for
this change is the non-retroactive extradition law enacted by
the Colombian National Assembly in December 1997. Accordingly,
Colombian traffickers now face the prospect of extradition for
overt acts committed on or after the date (December 17, 1997)
that the extradition amendment went into effect. By distancing
themselves from overt acts in the United States, Colombian drug
lords hope to minimize the threat that the United States will
gather sufficient evidence to support an extradition request.
This shift does not mean to suggest that traffickers operating
from Colombia will abandon the U.S. cocaine market en masse.
Emerging drug lords-who do not face the difficulties in
micro-managing operations as do the jailed Cali criminal
leaders-have little reason to forego the profits generated by
the wholesale U.S. cocaine market.
Colombian drug
trafficking organizations increasingly rely upon the eastern
Pacific Ocean as a trafficking route to move cocaine to the
United States. Law enforcement and intelligence community
sources estimate 65 percent of the cocaine shipped to the United
States moves through the Central America-Mexico corridor,
primarily by vessels operating in the eastern Pacific. Colombian
traffickers utilize fishing vessels to transport bulk shipments
of cocaine from Colombia to the west coast of Mexico and, to a
lesser extent, the Yucatan Peninsula. The cocaine is off-loaded
to go-fast vessels for the final shipment to the Mexican coast.
The loads are subsequently broken down into smaller quantities
to be moved across the Southwest border.
However,
cocaine continues to be transported through the Caribbean;
Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti are the
predominant transshipment points for Colombian cocaine
transiting the Caribbean. Because of lawlessness and
deteriorating economic conditions, Haiti is a growing
transshipment point for Colombian cocaine destined for eastern
U.S. markets. Haitian drug traffickers, utilizing maritime
shipments to transport cocaine to South Florida, are becoming a
major threat. Law enforcement reporting indicates that Jamaica
is an increasingly significant transshipment point for cocaine
destined for the United States since it is located midway
between South America and the United States. Cocaine is
primarily smuggled into Jamaica by maritime methods, and the
cocaine transshipped through Jamaica often is destined for the
Canadian, European, and U.S. markets. Cocaine destined for the
United States is usually smuggled from Jamaica to the Bahamas
aboard go-fast boats. The cocaine is subsequently smuggled to
the Florida coast using go-fast boats, pleasure craft, and
fishing vessels.
Crack Cocaine
Trafficking
Crack, the
inexpensive, smokable form of cocaine, continues to be
distributed and used in most major cities. While cocaine use in
the United States has declined over the past decade, the rate of
use in recent years has stabilized at high levels. Crack cocaine
usage, which initially drove these rates, has similarly
stabilized, and shows some indications of declining although it
also remains at a high level. Street gangs, such as the Crips
and the Bloods, and criminal groups of ethnic Dominicans, Puerto
Ricans, and Jamaicans dominate the retail market for crack
cocaine nationwide. The directed expansion of these gangs to
smaller U.S. cities and rural areas, as well as a growth in
street gangs that imitate their urban counterparts, results in
an increase in homicides, armed robberies, and assaults as gang
members use physical violence to maintain their drug
distribution monopolies.
Prices and
Purity
Cocaine prices
in 2001 remained low and stable, suggesting a steady supply to
the United States. Nationwide, wholesale cocaine prices ranged
from $12,000 to $35,000 per kilogram. In most major metropolitan
areas, however, the price of a kilogram of cocaine ranged from
$13,000 to $25,000. Average purity for cocaine at the gram,
ounce, and kilogram levels remained stable at high levels. In
2001, the average purity of a kilogram of cocaine was 73
percent. Typically, cocaine HCl is converted into crack cocaine,
or "rock," within the United States by the secondary wholesaler
or retailer. Crack cocaine is often packaged in vials, glassine
bags, and film canisters. The size of a crack rock can vary, but
generally ranges from 1/10 to 1/2 gram. Rocks can sell for as
low as $3 to as high as $50, but prices generally range from $10
to $20.
Seizures
According to
the Federal-wide Drug Seizure System (FDSS), U.S. federal
authorities seized over 111 metric tons of cocaine in Calendar
Year 2001. This moderate increase over the nearly 107 metric
tons seized in 2000 is due in part to an increase in maritime
seizures in the Southwest Pacific. Maritime seizures in this
region increased by 9 metric tons between CY 2000 and CY 2001.
Two of the more notable seizures in the Eastern Pacific corridor
in CY 2001 reflect the importance of the region in cocaine
movement to the United States. In February 2001, the fishing
vessel Forever My Friend was intercepted with over 17
metric tons of cocaine. In May 2001, the fishing vessel
Svesda Maru was seized with another 17 metric tons of
cocaine on board.
HEROIN
Heroin is
readily available in many U.S. cities as evidenced by the
unprecedented high level of average retail, or street-level,
purity. Criminals in four foreign source areas produce the
heroin available in the United States: South America (Colombia),
Southeast Asia (principally Burma), Mexico, and Southwest
Asia/Middle East (principally Afghanistan). While virtually all
heroin produced in Mexico and South America is destined for the
U.S. market, each of the four source areas has dominated the
U.S. market at some point over the past 30 years. Over the past
decade, the United States has experienced a dramatic shift in
the heroin market from the domination of Southeast Asian heroin
to a dominance of the wholesale and retail markets by South
American heroin, especially in the East. In the West, by
contrast, "black tar" and, to a lesser extent, brown powdered
heroin from Mexico have been, and continue to be, the
predominant available form.
The increased
availability of high-purity heroin, which can effectively be
snorted, has given rise to a new, younger user population. While
avoiding the stigma of needle use, this user group is ingesting
larger quantities of the drug and, according to drug treatment
specialists, progressing more quickly toward addiction.
South American
Heroin
The
availability of South American (SA) heroin, produced in
Colombia, has increased dramatically in the United States since
1993. SA heroin is available in the metropolitan areas of the
Northeast and along the East Coast. Independent traffickers
typically smuggle SA heroin into the United States via couriers
traveling aboard commercial airlines, with each courier usually
carrying from 500 grams to 1 kilogram of heroin per trip. These
traffickers increased their influence in the lucrative
northeastern heroin market, which has the largest demand in the
United States, by pursuing an aggressive marketing strategy.
They distributed high-quality heroin (of purity frequently above
90 percent), undercut the price of their competition, and used
their long-standing, effective drug distribution networks.
Investigations also indicate the spread of SA heroin to smaller
U.S. cities.
Since the
mid-1990s, Colombian heroin traffickers have diversified their
methods of operation. Couriers still come into Miami, New York
City, San Juan, and other U.S. cities on direct commercial
flights from Colombia. Increasingly, however, Colombian
traffickers are smuggling heroin from Colombia into the United
States through such countries as Costa Rica, the Dominican
Republic, Ecuador, Panama, Mexico, Argentina, and Venezuela.
In response to
increased drug law enforcement presence at eastern ports of
entry, some SA heroin traffickers have sought alternative
routes. They transship heroin through the Dallas/Fort Worth
International Airport before it reaches its final destination of
New York City's LaGuardia Airport. Their couriers often
transport heroin impregnated within clothing. Couriers with
other destinations also smuggle the drug using this same method
of concealment. In January 2002, USCS agents at the Miami
International Airport arrested a courier who had arrived from
Venezuela with 14 kilograms of heroin-saturated clothing. The
following month, 18 kilograms of clothing saturated with heroin
were seized in New York. Another increasingly used method is to
smuggle heroin by sewing it into clothing. In New York in March
2002, two couriers were arrested at a hotel with approximately 8
to 10 kilograms of heroin sewn into 24 pieces of clothing. Also
in New York that month, a married couple, Venezuelan nationals,
who had arrived at JFK International Airport on a flight from
Caracas, had in their luggage jackets that had a combined total
of 6 kilograms of heroin sewn into them.
Colombian
heroin traffickers have also used commercial maritime methods to
move larger amounts of their drug into the United States. Some
of the past maritime heroin shipments have been intermixed with
larger shipments of cocaine, and some have been transported via
cruise ships. Larger shipments of heroin have also been smuggled
via containerized cargo, as evidenced by the May 16, 2001,
seizure of 54 kilograms of SA heroin in New York. The heroin,
packaged in 1.5 pound bricks, was secreted in false bottoms of
1,400 25-pound boxes of frozen plantains. This seizure
represents the largest seizure of SA heroin to date in the
United States.
Within the
United States, ethnic Dominican criminal groups have played a
significant role in retail-level heroin distribution in
northeastern markets for at least the past two decades. During
the 1990s, Dominican groups secured their role in the heroin
trade by selling high-purity SA heroin. Currently, Dominican
groups dominate retail heroin markets in northeastern cities
such as New York City, Boston, and Philadelphia. New York City
is the primary base of operation for ethnic Dominican groups.
Colombian distribution networks at the wholesale level deal
directly with Dominican trafficking groups responsible for
retail sales.
Mexican Heroin
Mexican heroin
has been a threat to the United States for decades. It is
produced, smuggled, and distributed by polydrug trafficking
groups, many of which have been in operation for more than 20
years. Nearly all of the heroin produced in Mexico is destined
for distribution in the United States. Organized crime groups
operating from Mexico produce, smuggle, and distribute the black
tar heroin sold in the western United States. Traditionally,
trafficking groups operating from Mexico evaded interdiction
efforts by smuggling heroin to the U.S. market as they received
orders from customers. By keeping quantities small, traffickers
hoped to minimize the risk of losing a significant quantity of
heroin in a single seizure. Even large polydrug Mexican
organizations, which smuggle multiton quantities of cocaine and
marijuana, generally limited smuggling of Mexican heroin into
the United States to kilogram and smaller amounts. Nevertheless,
trafficking organizations were capable of regularly smuggling
significant quantities of heroin into the United States.
Although
illegal immigrants and migrant workers frequently smuggle heroin
across the U.S./Mexico border in 1- to 3- kilogram amounts for
the major trafficking groups, seizures indicate that larger
loads are being moved across the border, primarily in privately
owned vehicles. Once the heroin reaches the United States,
traffickers rely upon well-entrenched polydrug smuggling and
distribution networks to deliver their product to the market,
principally in the metropolitan areas of the midwestern,
southwestern, and western United States with sizable Mexican
immigrant populations.
Indicative of
larger shipments of Mexican heroin being smuggled into the
United States are several seizures that occurred in the
Southwest in recent years. Following a traffic stop in April
2002 near Pleasanton, Texas - about 25 miles south of San
Antonio - Department of Public Safety troopers seized 34
kilograms of brown powder heroin. The heroin bundles, placed
inside metal boxes, were found in all four tires of a pickup
truck which was headed for San Antonio. In January 2001, the
USCS in Del Rio, Texas, seized 42 kilograms of black tar heroin
and in December 2000, they seized 27 kilograms of black tar
heroin at the Laredo port of entry. Texas has not been the only
border state where large amounts of black tar heroin have been
seized. In October 2000, 46 kilograms of black tar heroin were
seized in Arizona at the San Luis port of entry. This seizure
ranks as one of the largest ever made along the Southwest
border.
Although
recent DEA cases have involved Mexican black tar heroin
trafficking groups east of the Mississippi River, there has been
no successful, long-term penetration of the East Coast markets
by organizations selling Mexico-produced heroin.
Southeast
Asian Heroin
High-purity
Southeast Asian (SEA) heroin dominated the market in the United
States during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Over the past few
years, however, all indicators point to a decrease in SEA heroin
available domestically. Significant investigations led to the
incarceration in Thailand and extradition to the United States
of more than a dozen high-level violators who played key roles
in moving SEA heroin shipments to the United States. SEA heroin
trafficking links run from independent brokers and shippers in
Asia through overseas Chinese criminal populations to ethnic
Chinese criminal wholesale distributors in the United States. In
the United States, ethnic Chinese criminals rely upon local
criminal organizations for the distribution of SEA heroin.
Despite the recent decline in the trafficking of SEA heroin in
the United States, Chinese criminal groups remain the most
sophisticated heroin trafficking organizations in the world.
SEA heroin
shipments destined for U.S. markets may transit through China,
Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, or South
Korea. Largely independent U.S.-based ethnic Chinese traffickers
control distribution within the United States, principally in
the Northeast and along the East Coast. During the late 1990s,
Vancouver, British Columbia, emerged as a key operational
headquarters for ethnic Chinese criminal elements. These
criminal groups were enmeshed with North American gangs of Asian
descent in transporting SEA heroin to the United States, mainly
to the East Coast. A DEA New York Field Division investigation
led to the seizure, in January 2001, of 57 kilograms of SEA
heroin from a container ship docked at the port in Elizabeth,
New Jersey. The largest seizure of SEA heroin in recent years.
Trafficking
groups composed of West African criminals also smuggle SEA
heroin to the United States. Nigerian criminals have been most
active in U.S. cities and areas with well-established Nigerian
populations, such as Atlanta, Baltimore, Houston, Dallas, New
York City, Newark, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. Over the past
several years, Chicago has become a hub for heroin trafficking
controlled by Nigerian criminals who primarily deal in SEA
heroin.
Southwest
Asian Heroin
While a large
portion of Southwest Asian (SWA) heroin is consumed in Western
Europe, Pakistan, and Iran, traffickers operating from Middle
Eastern locations smuggle SWA heroin to ethnic enclaves in the
United States. Criminal groups composed of ethnic Lebanese,
Pakistanis, Turks, and Afghans are all involved in supplying the
drug to U.S.-based groups for retail distribution. SWA heroin
traffickers and wholesale distributors generally have been
consistently cautious, rarely conducting heroin business with
persons not of Southwest Asian or Middle Eastern ethnicity.
Therefore, the ethnic aspect of SWA heroin importation and
distribution has made SWA heroin more prevalent in areas with
large Southwest Asian populations.
West African
traffickers, who primarily smuggled SEA heroin to the United
States in the 1990s, now also deal in SWA heroin. In a
particularly noteworthy seizure of approximately 24 kilograms of
heroin in New York in May 2000, 90 percent of the seized heroin
consisted of SWA heroin, and the remaining 10 percent was SEA.
While unusual, a shipment containing the two types of heroin is
not unexpected. For the last several years, West African
traffickers, based in Bangkok who normally deal in SEA heroin,
have been sending couriers to Pakistan to buy the cheaper
Afghanistan-produced SWA heroin. Heroin in Pakistan is about
half the price of SEA heroin in Bangkok where the West Africans
pay between $13,000 and $16,000 for a kilogram.
The most
recent sizeable seizure of SWA heroin occurred in New York City
in September 200l when officers of the city police department
confiscated approximately 50 kilograms of the substance.
According to the Federal-wide Drug Seizure System, this was one
of the largest seizures of powdered heroin in the past five
years.
Purity
On the street,
heroin purity and price often reflect the drug's availability.
High purities and low prices, for example, indicate that heroin
supplies are readily available. DEA's Domestic Monitor Program
(DMP), a retail heroin purchase program, tracks urban
street-level heroin purity and price. The most recent data
available show that, in 2000, the nationwide average purity for
retail heroin from all sources was 36.8 percent. This number is
significantly higher than the average of 7 percent reported two
decades ago and higher than the 26 percent recorded in 1991. The
significant rise in average purity corresponds to the increased
availability of high-purity SA heroin, particularly in the
northeastern United States.
Moreover, the
DMP indicated that the retail purity of SA heroin was the
highest for any source, averaging 48.1 percent in 2000. SWA
heroin followed with a 34.6 percent average and Mexican heroin
averaged 20.8 percent. Heroin purity at the street level
generally remained highest in the northeastern United States,
where most of the nation's user population lives. In 2000,
Philadelphia recorded the DMP's highest heroin purity average of
74.0 percent. Over the last several years, Philadelphia has
ranked consistently at or near the top in DMP retail heroin
purity levels. In addition, New York City continues to be one of
the major importation and distribution centers for SA and SEA
heroin.
Prices
Nationwide, in
2000, SA heroin ranged from $50,000 to $200,000 per kilogram.
SEA and SWA heroin ranged in price from $40,000 to $190,000 per
kilogram. Wholesale-level prices for Mexican heroin were the
lowest of any type, ranging from $13,200 to $175,000 per
kilogram. The wide range in kilogram prices reflects variables
such as buyer/seller relationships, quantities purchased,
purchase frequencies, purity, and transportation costs.
Seizures
FDSS
statistics indicate that U.S. federal law enforcement
authorities seized 2,506 kilograms of heroin in 2001, compared
to 1,673 kilograms in 2000.
METHAMPHETAMINE
Domestic
methamphetamine production, trafficking, and abuse are
concentrated in the western, southwestern, and midwestern United
States. Methamphetamine is also increasingly available in
portions of the South and eastern United States, especially
Georgia and Florida. Clandestine laboratories in California and
Mexico are the primary sources of supply for methamphetamine
available in the United States.
Over the last
decade, the methamphetamine trafficking and abuse situation in
the United States changed dramatically. In 1994, ethnic Mexican
drug trafficking organizations operating "super labs"
(laboratories capable of producing in excess of 10 pounds of
methamphetamine in one 24-hour production cycle) based in Mexico
and in California began to take control of the production and
distribution of methamphetamine domestically. Independent
laboratory operators, including outlaw motorcycle gangs,
previously maintained control of methamphetamine production and
distribution within the United States, and continue to operate
today on a lesser scale. The entry of ethnic Mexican traffickers
into the methamphetamine trade in the mid-1990s resulted in a
significant increase in the supply of the drug. Mexican criminal
organizations, based in Mexico and California, provided
high-purity, low-cost methamphetamine originally to cities in
the Midwest and West with Mexican populations.
In 2001,
approximately 8,000 clandestine methamphetamine laboratories
were seized and reported to the National Clandestine Laboratory
Database at the El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC). In 2001, 298
seized super labs were reported to EPIC. This represents a rise
in the number of superlabs from 2000, in which the total number
of superlabs totaled 168. Further, for all of calendar year
2000, the Tijuana Residence Office (TJRO) reported only two
seized methamphetamine laboratories. During calendar year 2001,
the number of clandestine laboratories seized in Baja California
Norte increased substantially, with 24 clandestine laboratories
seized as of December 2001. The majority of these laboratories
have been seized in the cities of Tijuana and Mexicali. Due to
the proximity of these laboratories to the United States, it is
believed that the majority of the methamphetamine was bound for
the United States.
According to
EPIC, the methamphetamine seized annually in transit from Mexico
to the United States has increased dramatically since 1992.
Authorities seized 1,370 kilograms of methamphetamine along the
border in 2001, compared with only 6.5 kilograms in 1992. The
primary points of entry into the United States for
methamphetamine produced in Mexico have traditionally been
California ports of entry, particularly San Ysidro. Although a
great amount of methamphetamine still transits this area, ports
of entry in South Texas have experienced increases in smuggling
activity, although this activity appears to be stabilizing. The
most common method of transporting methamphetamine is within
concealed compartments in passenger vehicles.
The supply of
methamphetamine in the United States also stems from multiple
small-scale laboratories, often operated by independent cooks
who obtain the ingredients necessary for manufacture from retail
and convenience stores. Methamphetamine produced in these
"mom-and-pop" laboratories is generally for personal use or
limited distribution. A clandestine laboratory operator can use
relatively common items, such as mason jars, coffee filters, hot
plates, pressure cookers, pillowcases, plastic tubing, and gas
cans to substitute for sophisticated laboratory equipment. The
growing use of the Internet, which provides access to
methamphetamine "recipes," coupled with increased demand for
high-purity product, has resulted in a dramatic increase in the
number of mom-and-pop laboratories throughout the United States.
In 2001, the number of labs with capacities under ten pounds
totaled over 7,700.
Methamphetamine precursor chemicals diverted to large clandestine
laboratories in the United States are usually dosage-form
pseudoephedrine or ephedrine drug products. Because of law
enforcement attention and strong state precursor control laws in
California, traffickers have now diversified to pseudoephedrine
suppliers nationwide, buying at relatively lower prices in other
parts of the country and trafficking the product to California,
where the black market price can bring up to $5,000 per pound of
product.
Nationwide
networks of suppliers, working together, now provide ton
quantities of pseudoephedrine tablet products to the market in
California and to distributors in other states. The latter
divert the product to local methamphetamine laboratories.
Small-scale lab operators commonly buy over-the-counter
pseudoephedrine products in small amounts from legitimate
retailers. Recent reporting indicates that Canadian companies
are a major source of supply for pseudoephedrine destined for
U.S. laboratories because of minimal chemical controls in
Canada. On March 7, 2002, search warrants were served on two
residences, one in Paramount and the other in Lynwood,
California. Four hundred containers of 25,000 count
pseudoephedrine jars, or "pickle jars," (approximately
10,000,000 tablets) and $1,502,000 USC were seized. The
pseudoephedrine is believed to have originated in Canada.
Pseudoephedrine and ephedrine are also purchased from unscrupulous
U.S. distributors who sell case quantities of the tablets.
Ultimately, the tablets are destined for California where they
are manufactured into multiple pounds of methamphetamine. The
finished methamphetamine is then distributed throughout the
United States through preexisting smuggling methods to the
traffickers.
In addition,
the use of methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) has been encountered as a
"cut" in methamphetamine produced primarily by Mexican
organizations. Legitimately used as a dietary supplement for
horses and humans, MSM is readily available at feed and
livestock stores, as well as health and nutrition stores. The
addition of MSM can be used to add volume to the finished
methamphetamine, thus increasing the profit. Increases in the
use of MSM may be a signal of difficulty in obtaining
precursors, or a simple marketing method to meet demand while
increasing profit.
The
crystalline form of methamphetamine, known as "ice," "glass," or
"crystal," is gaining popularity. Converted from powder by
criminal elements in Southeast Asia, Mexico, and the United
States, ice traditionally was used in Hawaii and southern
California. More recently, its use has spread along the West
Coast and Southwest border areas.
The
importation of methamphetamine tablets from Southeast Asia,
primarily via the mail system, remains a potential threat.
Produced mainly by the United Wa State Army, the largest heroin
and methamphetamine trafficking group in Burma, the tablets,
which weigh approximately 90 milligrams (mg), typically contain
25 to 30 mg of methamphetamine, and 45 to 65 mg of caffeine.
Although it is believed that the tablets are trafficked
primarily by ethnic Thais or Laotians for use in the Asian
community, it is possible that larger amounts will be smuggled
into the United States if demand increases outside that
community.
Purity
Until 1999,
the methamphetamine problem was increasing at an alarming rate.
International chemical control efforts reduced the supply of
those chemicals needed to produce high-quality methamphetamine.
As a result, the national purity level for methamphetamine has
decreased dramatically. The average purity of methamphetamine
exhibits seized by DEA dropped from 71.9 percent in 1994 to 30.7
percent in 1999. The average purity of methamphetamine exhibits
seized by DEA in 2000 rose slightly to 35.3 percent and 40.1 in
2001.
Prices
Methamphetamine prices vary throughout different regions of the
United States. At the distribution level, prices range from
$3,500 per pound in parts of California and Texas to $21,000 per
pound in southeastern and northeastern regions of the country.
Retail prices range from $400 to $3,000 per ounce.
Seizures
According to
the FDSS, U.S. federal authorities seized a total of 2,807
kilograms of methamphetamine in 2001 compared to 3,373 kilograms
in 2000.
In 2000,
authorities seized 301,697 SEA methamphetamine tablets in U.S.
Postal Service facilities in Oakland, Los Angeles, and Honolulu.
This represents an 656-percent increase from the 1999 seizure
total of 39,917.
MARIJUANA
Marijuana is
the most widely abused and readily available illicit drug in the
United States, with an estimated 11.5 million current users. At
least one-third of the U.S. population has used marijuana
sometime in their lives. The drug is considered a "gateway" to
the world of illicit drug abuse. Relaxed public perception of
harm, popularization by the media and by groups advocating
legalization, along with the trend of smoking marijuana-filled
cigars known as "blunts," contribute to the nationwide
resurgence in marijuana's popularity.
The Internet
also contributes to marijuana's popularity. Websites exist that
provide information and links extolling the virtues of
marijuana. These sites provide forums for user group
discussions, post documents and messages for public discussions,
and advocate the "legal" sale of marijuana. Several web sites
advertising the sale of marijuana and providing instructions on
home grows have also been identified.
Marijuana
smuggled into the United States, whether grown in Mexico or
transshipped from other Latin American source areas, accounts
for most of the marijuana available in the United States.
Marijuana produced in Mexico remains the most widely available.
Moreover, high-potency marijuana enters the U.S. drug market
from Canada. The availability of marijuana from Southeast Asia
generally is limited to the West Coast. U.S. drug law
enforcement reporting also suggests increased availability of
domestically grown marijuana.
Domestic
Marijuana
According to
2000 Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program (DCE/SP)
statistics, the five leading states for indoor growing activity
were California, Florida, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin.
DCE/SP statistics indicate that the major outdoor growing states
in 2000 were California, Hawaii, Kentucky, and Tennessee; these
states accounted for approximately three-quarters of the total
of eradicated outdoor cultivated plants.
Mexican
Marijuana
Organized
crime groups operating from Mexico have smuggled marijuana into
the United States since the early 1970s. These groups maintain
extensive networks of associates, often related through familial
or regional ties to associates living in the United States,
where they control polydrug smuggling and wholesale distribution
from hub cities to retail markets throughout the United States.
Groups
operating from Mexico employ a variety of transportation and
concealment methods to smuggle marijuana into the United States.
Most of the marijuana smuggled into the United States is
concealed in vehicles - often in false compartments - or hidden
in shipments of legitimate agricultural or industrial products.
Marijuana also is smuggled across the border by rail, horse,
raft, and backpack. Shipments of 20 kilograms or less are
smuggled by pedestrians who enter the United States at border
checkpoints and by backpackers who, alone or in groups ("mule
trains"), cross the border at more remote locations. Jamaican
organizations also appear to be involved in dispatching Mexican
marijuana via parcel carriers.
Organized
crime groups operating from Mexico conceal marijuana in an array
of vehicles, including commercial vehicles, private automobiles,
pickup trucks, vans, mobile homes, and horse trailers, driven
through border ports of entry. Larger shipments ranging up to
multithousand kilograms are usually smuggled in
tractor-trailers, such as the 6.9 metric tons of marijuana
seized on April 3, 2001, by USCS officials from a
tractor-trailer at the Otay Mesa, California, port of entry. The
marijuana packages had been wrapped in cellophane, coated with
mustard, grease, and motor oil, and commingled in a load of
television sets.
Besides
overland smuggling, drug traffickers use ocean vessels to move
Mexican marijuana up the coast of Mexico to U.S. ports, drop-off
sites along the U.S. coast, or to rendezvous points with other
boats bound for the United States. Law enforcement authorities
in southern California indicate that marijuana is transferred
from mother ships in international waters to Mexican fishing
vessels. The smaller vessels then deliver the marijuana to
overland smugglers on the Mexican Baja California Peninsula.
From there, the marijuana is generally moved to border transit
points and then carried to the Los Angeles metropolitan area for
distribution to eastern markets.
Canadian
Marijuana
Canada is
becoming a source country for indoor-grown, high-potency (15 to
25 percent THC) marijuana destined for the United States.
Canadian law enforcement intelligence indicates that marijuana
traffickers there are increasingly cultivating cannabis indoors.
Such indoor-grow operations have become an enormous and
lucrative illicit industry, producing a potent form of marijuana
that has come to be known as "BC Bud." Canadian officials
estimate that cannabis cultivation in British Columbia is a
billion-dollar industry, and that traffickers smuggle a
significant portion of the Canadian harvest into the United
States.
Prices and
Potency (THC Content)
Prices for
commercial-grade marijuana have remained relatively stable over
the past decade, ranging from approximately $400 to $1,000 per
pound in U.S. Southwest border areas to between $700 to $2000
per pound in the Midwest and northeastern United States. The
national price range for sinsemilla, a higher quality marijuana
usually grown domestically, is between $900 and $6,000 per
pound. BC Bud sells for between $1,500 and $2,000 per pound in
Vancouver; but when smuggled into the United States, it sells
for between $5,000 and $8,000 per pound in major metropolitan
areas.
During the
past two decades, marijuana potency has increased. According to
the University of Mississippi's 2000 Marijuana Potency
Monitoring Project (MPMP), commercial-grade marijuana THC levels
rose from under 2 percent in the late 1970s and early 1980s to
6.07 percent in 2000. The MPMP reports that sinsemilla potency
also increased, rising from 6 percent in the late 1970s and
1980s to 13.20 percent in 2000.
Seizures
According to
the FDSS, U.S. federal authorities seized 1,211 metric tons of
marijuana in 2001 compared to 1,236 metric tons in 2000.
MDMA
Commonly
referred to as Ecstasy, XTC, Clarity, or Essence, 3,
4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is a synthetic
psychoactive drug possessing stimulant and mild hallucinogenic
properties. In the early 1990s, MDMA became increasingly popular
among European youth. However, it is within the last five years
that MDMA use in the United States has increased at an alarming
rate.
MDMA is
popular among middle-class adolescents and young adults. MDMA is
increasingly becoming an abuse problem because many users view
it as nonaddictive and benign. MDMA is sold primarily at
legitimate nightclubs and bars, at underground nightclubs
sometimes called "acid houses," or at all-night parties known as
"raves."
MDMA tablets
range in weight from 150 to 350 mg and contain between 70 to 120
mg of MDMA. The profit margin associated with MDMA trafficking
is significant. It costs as little as 25 to 50 cents to
manufacture an MDMA tablet in Europe, but the street value of
that same MDMA tablet can be as high as $40, with a tablet
typically selling for between $20 and $30.
Although the
vast majority of MDMA consumed domestically is produced in
Europe, a limited number of MDMA laboratories operate in the
United States. Law enforcement seized 17 clandestine MDMA
laboratories in the United States in 2001 compared to 7 seized
in 2000. It should be noted that these laboratories were
primarily capable of limited drug production. While recipes for
the clandestine production of MDMA can be found on the Internet,
acquiring the necessary precursor chemicals in the United States
is difficult.
MDMA is
manufactured clandestinely in Western Europe, particularly in
the Netherlands and to a lesser extent in Belgium. Much of the
MDMA is manufactured in the southeast section of the Netherlands
near Maastricht. Despite the Dutch Government's efforts to
curtail MDMA trafficking, the Netherlands remains a primary
source country for the drug. International MDMA traffickers
based in the Netherlands and Belgium, and a significant number
of U.S.-based traffickers who coordinate MDMA shipments to major
metropolitan areas of the United States sometimes use Montreal
and Toronto as transit points. In December 2000, the Royal
Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) seized approximately 150,000 MDMA
tablets in Toronto that had been shipped via DHL from Brussels,
Belgium, by an Israeli MDMA trafficking organization. The
shipment was destined for distributors in the United States.
Due to the
availability of precursor chemicals in Canada, a number of MDMA
laboratories have been discovered operating near metropolitan
areas such as Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal. Such
laboratories continue to supply U.S. and Canadian-based MDMA
trafficking organizations. According to the RCMP, the total
potential yield of MDMA from laboratories uncovered in Canada
since 1999 is in excess of 10 million tablets.
Another
emerging trend is the use of Mexico as a transit zone for MDMA
entering the United States. During 2000, several seizures were
reported in or destined for Mexico. In September 2000, Dutch
authorities seized a 1.25 million-tablet shipment of MDMA
destined for Mexico. Previously, in April 2000, a shipment of
200,000 MDMA tablets was seized at the airport in Mexico City.
The MDMA was discovered in an air cargo shipment manifested as
aircraft parts sent from the Netherlands and destined for the
United States.
In recent
years, traffickers have begun to tap the potential of the
Caribbean and South America as alternative routes for moving
synthetic drugs, predominantly MDMA, from Europe to the United
States. The region's numerous and established drug
transportation groups, extensive network of commercial flights,
abundance of couriers, and historic connections to Europe
provide traffickers with the means to route synthetic drugs
through South America and the Caribbean to the United States.
Available seizure and investigative information indicates that
practically all of the MDMA transiting South America and the
Caribbean is transported from Europe on commercial flights. Thus
far the Caribbean has overshadowed South America as a transit
zone for European MDMA destined to the United States.
USCS
statistics show a dramatic increase in seizures of MDMA tablets.
In FY 1997, approximately 400,000 MDMA tablets were seized
compared to approximately 7.2 million tablets seized in FY 2001.
On July 22, 2000, approximately 2.1 million tablets were seized
in Los Angeles. To date, this is the largest seizure of MDMA
tablets in the United States.
LSD
Lysergic acid
diethylamide (LSD) remains available in retail quantities in
virtually every state. LSD production reportedly is centered on
the West Coast, particularly in San Francisco, northern
California, the Pacific Northwest, and recently the Midwest.
Since the 1960s, LSD has been manufactured illegally within the
United States. LSD production is a time-consuming and complex
procedure. Several chemical recipes for synthesizing LSD are on
the Internet, but clandestine production requires a high degree
of chemical expertise. Chemists maintain tight control at the
production level, but do not necessarily participate in the
distribution of the drug. These chemists usually sell the
crystal LSD product to one or two trusted associates, insulating
themselves from the wholesale distributors.
Few LSD
laboratories have ever been seized in the United States because
of infrequent and irregular production cycles. In 2000, DEA
seized one LSD laboratory that was located in a converted
missile silo in Kansas. LSD is produced in crystal form that is
converted to liquid and distributed primarily in the form of
squares of blotter paper saturated with the liquid. To a lesser
extent, LSD is sold as a liquid, contained in breath mint
bottles and vials; in gelatin tab form ("window panes") of
varying colors; and in pill form known as "microdots."
Distribution
of LSD is unique within the drug culture. A proliferation of
mail order sales has created a marketplace where the sellers are
virtually unknown to the buyers, giving the highest level
traffickers considerable insulation from drug law enforcement
operations. The vast majority of users are middle-class
adolescents and young adults attracted by its low prices. Rock
concerts continue to be favorite distribution sites for LSD
traffickers; however, distribution at raves throughout the
United States is becoming more popular. Contacts made at raves
and concerts are used to establish future transactions and
shipments of larger quantities of LSD.
PCP
Phencyclidine
(PCP), a clandestinely manufactured hallucinogen commonly used
in conjunction with marijuana, causes users to feel detached
from their surroundings and, in some cases, paranoid and
violent. PCP production is centered in the greater Los Angeles
metropolitan area. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the
widespread availability and use of crack cocaine displaced
demand for PCP. More recently, however, reporting suggests that
PCP abuse is increasing slightly in many cities, as some crack
addicts return to the use of this drug. DEA reporting indicates
that many large seizures of PCP have occurred in Texas. Every
seizure of PCP had originated in the Los Angeles metropolitan
area and was primarily destined for Houston.
Since 2000,
four major seizures of PCP have occurred in Sierra Blanca,
Texas, alone: approximately 6 kilograms of PCP were seized on
April 21, 2000; 2 kilograms seized on December 12, 2000; 1,773
dosage units of liquid PCP seized on June 11, 2001; and 33
kilograms of liquid PCP on July 31, 2001. DEA, state, and local
authorities also seized four PCP laboratories in 2000 and five
in 2001.
FLUNITRAZEPAM
Flunitrazepam
is sold under the trade name Rohypnol, from which the street
name "Rophy" is derived. Other street names include "circles,"
"Mexican valium," "roofies," and "R-2." Flunitrazepam is a
depressant used in the treatment of short-term insomnia and as a
hypnotic sedative and pre-anesthetic medication.
Flunitrazepam
is manufactured worldwide, particularly in Europe and Latin
America, where it is sold legally by prescription. This drug is
neither manufactured nor approved for medical use in the United
States. Distributors in Texas allegedly travel to Mexico to
obtain the drug. In addition, Colombian sources of supply
smuggle flunitrazepam into South Florida via international mail
services and/or couriers using commercial airlines.
According to
law enforcement officials in south Florida, flunitrazepam is
routinely referred to as a "club drug," since it is popular in
local nightclubs. It is also referred to as the "date rape
drug," characteristically causing the victim to experience
short-term memory loss after ingestion. It is ingested orally,
frequently in conjunction with alcohol or other drugs. High
school and college students are the most frequent users of
flunitrazepam, commonly using it as an "alcohol extender." Young
people also have the misconception that flunitrazepam is
unadulterated, and, therefore, "safe" because of pre-sealed
bubble packaging.
GHB/GBL
GHB (gamma
hydroxybutyrate), a central nervous system depressant, was
banned by the FDA in 1990. On February 18, 2000, President
William J. Clinton signed the Hillory J. Farias and Samantha
Reid Date-Rape Prohibition Act of 2000. This legislation makes
GHB a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substance Act (CSA).
GHB generates
feelings of euphoria and intoxication. It is often combined in a
carbonated, alcohol, or health food drink, and is reportedly
popular among adolescents and young adults attending raves and
nightclubs. At lower doses, GHB causes drowsiness, nausea, and
visual disturbances. At higher dosages, unconsciousness,
seizures, severe respiratory depression, and coma can occur.
GHB has been
used in the commission of sexual assaults because it renders the
victim incapable of resisting, and may cause memory problems
that could complicate case prosecution. GHB recipes are
accessible over the Internet; the drug is simple to manufacture,
and can be made in a bathtub or even a Pyrex baking dish. DEA,
along with state and local law enforcement agencies, seized 13
GHB laboratories in 2001, 5 of which were located in California,
compared to 20 GHB laboratories in 2000 with 12 of these seized
in California.
GBL (gamma
butyrolactone), an analog of GHB, is also abused. GBL is a
chemical used in many industrial cleaners and it also has been
marketed as a health supplement. GBL is synthesized by the body
to produce GHB. One 55-gallon drum yields 240,000 capfuls of
GBL. One capful sells for $8.00, potentially yielding 1.9
million dollars per 55-gallon drum.
STEROIDS
The Anabolic
Steroid Control Act was passed by Congress in the fall of 1990
and became effective on February 21, 1991. The Steroid Act
classified 27 steroids as Schedule III substances under the CSA.
Street prices of anabolic steroids have increased substantially
as a result.
Fitness clubs
have been, and continue to be, the primary distribution centers
of steroids, since bodybuilders and weightlifters comprise a
predominant portion of the user population. Once viewed as a
problem strictly associated with professional athletes, a recent
survey of students indicates increased steroid use among boys in
the 8th and 10th grades. The percentage of 8th grade boys
reporting past-year use of steroids increased from 1.6 percent
in 1998 to 2.5 percent in 1999, and from 1.9 percent to 2.8
percent among 10th grade boys.
Anabolic
steroids are illicitly smuggled from Mexico and European
countries to the United States. Recent DEA reporting indicates
that Russian, Romanian, and Greek nationals are significant
traffickers of steroids and are responsible for substantial
shipments of steroids entering the United States. The lack of
international control over foreign sources of supply, however,
makes it impossible to attack the trafficking at its source.
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