Gulf Coast HIDTA 2010 Annual Report

Introduction

The primary function of the Gulf Coast HIDTA is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the major
drug trafficking organizations operating in its area and beyond. In addition, significant effort is
placed on the identification and seizure of drug-related assets accumulated by these
organizations. The program also acts as a coordination mechanism for federal, state and local
drug law enforcement resources arrayed in the region.

The program’s success is measured through periodic evaluation of funded initiatives to ensure
their focus and effectiveness is consistent with the Gulf Coast HIDTA and ONDCP’s National
Drug Control strategies. This is accomplished by regular site visits to initiative offices by Gulf
Coast HIDTA management staff to determine programmatic and fiscal compliance of National
HIDTA program guidelines. The Gulf Coast HIDTA Executive Board reviews all initiatives to
determine their effectiveness at mitigating the drug threat.

GC HIDTA Initiative Locations

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Gulf Coat HIDTA 2009 Annual Report

Over $105 million in illicit
drugs were confiscated from
drug trafficking organizations.

An additional $29 million of
drug-related assets were seized.

Combined Return-on-
Investment (ROI) of $18.92 for
every $1 of GC HIDTA funds
invested.

GC HIDTA task forces
identified 152 drug trafficking
and money laundering
organizations.

During 2010, GC HIDTA
dismantled 77 DTOs and
disrupted another 151.

Gulf Coast HIDTA initiatives
destroyed 223 clandestine labs
identified in 2010.

Gulf Coast HIDTA initiatives
were responsible for 5,244
arrests.

Gulf Coast HIDTA initiatives
seized 457 weapons and 276
vehicles.

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GC HIDTA initiatives
developed more complex
investigations on international
and multi-state DTOs than any
previous year.

GC HIDTA entities initiated 22
OCDETF cases of which 15
were multi-state DTOs.

Gulf Coast HIDTA/BLOC
Watch Center reported $16
million in currency seized on
Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana,
and Mississippi highways.

The Gulf Coast HIDTA
Training Program provided
drug enforcement-related
training to 1,845 students.

The Gulf Coast HIDTA Wire
Intercept Center supported 93
wiretaps for its initiatives.

Gulf Coast HIDTA initiatives
entered 7,120 SAFETNet
events/targets.

Gulf Coast HIDTA initiatives
seized 1,453 kilos of cocaine


Gulf Coast HIDT A 2010 Annual Report

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Gulf Coast IIDTA 2010 Annual Report

Gulf Coast HIDTA 2010 Annual Report

Executive Summary

A. Introduction

The United States Congress created the High
Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA)
program in 1989. The program’s mission is to
disrupt the market for illegal drugs in the
United States by facilitating federal, state and
local law enforcement efforts to dismantle and
disrupt drug trafficking organizations, with
particular emphasis on regions that have
harmful effects on other parts of the country.
The White House Office of National Drug
Control Policy (ONDCP) through a National
HIDTA Director administers the program.

In December 1996, counties and parishes
within the states of Alabama, Louisiana and
Mississippi were designated as the Gulf Coast
(GC) HIDTA. In February 2008, ONDCP
added four counties within the state of
Arkansas as part of the GC HIDTA. In 2010,
the GC HIDTA received authorization from
ONDCP to add Shelby County Tennessee.
With this initiative commencing operations in
January 2011, the GC HIDTA now includes 26
counties/parishes within a five-state area.

Calendar Year (CY) 2010 statistical
accomplishments show significant
improvement over CY 2009 in a number of
areas. Enforcement initiatives disrupted or
dismantled 228 drug-trafficking organizations
(DTOs) and money-laundering organizations
(MLOs) operating in its designated areas and
beyond. Although we missed our projected
target by 4 %, this statistic is extremely
impressive considering the majority of all
initiatives were focused on international and
multi-state organizations. As a result of
increased focus on the most serious DTOs, in
2010 GC HIDTA initiatives disrupted or
dismantled 159 DTOs which were international
or multi-state in scope. The number of local

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DTOs disrupted or dismantled decreased by
5%, and represent only 30% of all DTOs and
MLOs addressed. The Gulf Coast HIDTA
continues to be among the most effective
among all HIDTAs in the number of DTOs
disrupted or dismantled.

Equally impressive was the success in
removing the profits obtained by DTOs through
their illegal activities. In 2010, GC HIDTA
initiatives seized over $29 million in assets
from drug traffickers in U.S. currency, real
property, jewelry, weapons and other items of
value, a 3.5% increase in asset seizures.

During CY 2010, the GC HIDTA continued its
support of the Domestic Highway Enforcement
(DHE) program sponsored by ONDCP. The
program’s goal is to coordinate and enhance
highway enforcement activities among
participating law enforcement agencies. The
GC HIDTA Investigative Support Network
assisted DHE efforts throughout the 11-state
southeast region and served as the central
collection point for statistical data generated by
participating agencies and provided critical
roadside support to patrol officers.

The GC HIDTA continues to be a valued
partner in the law enforcement community
within its designated counties and parishes.
Perhaps the finest example of the efficiency
and effectiveness of the program in these
difficult economic and budgetary times is
return-on-investment. In 2010, the GC HIDTA
realized a combined return-on-investment of
$18.92 for every funding dollar. It should be
noted that this figure is based on wholesale
value of drugs. In prior years the value of
drugs seized were reported by this HIDTA
based on retail value. Despite this fact, the GC

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Gulf Coast HIDTA 2010 Annual Report

HIDTA exceeded its ROI of 2009. This clearly
demonstrates the effectiveness of the program.

B. Background

The Gulf Coast HIDTA is situated between
major importation centers along the Southwest
Border and lucrative distribution markets on the
East Coast and in theMidwest. This has
resulted in significant illicit transportation
activity including drugs and aliens by DTOs on
our interstate highway system. These same
organizations transport illicit proceeds of their
enterprise in bulk cash and weapons to the
Mexican border. The interstate highway system
that traverses the four states, including I-10, I-
20 and I-40, are their primary corridors. They
also intersect with four north-south interstates
and countless subordinate highways to provide
an effective transportation network for DTOs.

Our area also borders the Gulf of Mexico and
provides strategic maritime access to
significant portions of the country. It contains
six deep-water ports capable of servicing the
largest of seagoing vessels. The major drug
producing countries of Central and South
America significantly impact the GC HIDTA
because of their proximity and trade
relationships. The vast waterways and
coastlines provide unlimited opportunities for
smuggling, thereby making our geographical
location attractive to drug traffickers.
Additionally, international airports located in
strategic positions throughout the GC HIDTA,
as well as rural and isolated airstrips provide
advantageous surroundings for air smuggling
opportunities.

In 2010, the GC HIDTA had 30 initiatives operating in the four-state area of
Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. The initiatives were aligned in the

following manner:

1- Training

21- Major Investigation/Interdiction
4- Violent Crime/Safe Streets
1- Fugitive Apprehension

1- Management & Coordination
2- Intelligence/Coordination

Federal/State/Local Participation 2010
Total 537 Personnel

17

@ Federal
wState
@ Local

@ National Guard

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