|DEA | U.S. Drug Enforcement 
      Administration    www.dea.gov
|--- | -----------------------------------------------------------




# DRUG TRAFFICKING IN THE UNITED STATES

photo - poppy flower 
      photo - cocainephoto - different tablet logos 
      photo - marijuana leaves The Attorney General has determined that publication of this 
periodical is necessary in the transaction of the public business required by 
law of the Department of Justice. This report was prepared by the Domestic Strategic 
Intelligence Unit (NDAS) of the Office of Domestic Intelligence. Comments and 
requests for copies are welcome and may be directed to the Intelligence 
Production Unit, Intelligence Division, DEA Headquarters, at (202) 
307-8726. September 2001DEA-01020
  CONTENTS


|EXECUTIVE 
      SUMMARYMDMALSDPCPFLUNITRAZEPAMGHB/GBLSTEROIDS | COCAINE
      Trafficking 
        by Colombian and Mexican OrganizationsCrack 
        Cocaine TraffickingPrices 
        and PuritySeizures | HEROIN
      South 
        American HeroinMexican 
        HeroinSoutheast 
        Asian HeroinSouthwest 
        Asian HeroinPurityPricesSeizures | METHAMPHETAMINE
      PurityPricesSeizures | MARIJUANA
      Domestic 
        MarijuanaMexican 
        MarijuanaCanadian 
        MarijuanaPrices 
        and Potency (THC Content)Seizures
|--------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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 (USCS), 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. Reporting suggests that, 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.

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.

Signature of Steven W. Casteel, Assistant Administrator for Intelligence

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COCAINE

Cocaine trafficking and abuse continue to threaten the health and safety of 
American citizens. According to drug abuse indicators, the abuse 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.

photo - cocaine hydrochloride (HCl)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, however, now control wholesale cocaine 
distribution throughout the western and midwestern United States. The 
distribution of multiton quantities of cocaine, once dominated by the 
Colombia-based drug groups, is now controlled by Mexico-based trafficking groups 
in cities such as Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San 
Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle. 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. 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 
continuing to distance 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. Likely motivations for 
this change include 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 have increasingly relied upon the 
eastern Pacific Ocean as a trafficking route to move cocaine to the United 
States. Law enforcement and intelligence community sources estimate that 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 becoming 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, resulted in an increase in the 
number of homicides, armed robberies, and assaults as gang members used physical 
violence to maintain their drug distribution monopolies.



photo - vials of crack cocainePrices and Purity

Cocaine prices in 2000 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 2000, 
the average purity of a kilogram of cocaine was 75 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 nearly 103 metric tons of cocaine in 2000 compared to 135 
metric tons in 1999. According to a recent interagency intelligence assessment, 
cocaine production has not declined. The decline in cocaine seizures is 
primarily attributed to the decrease in the size of the average load transiting 
the Southwest border and an increase in the number of drug loads moving between 
ports of entry.



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. Recent 
seizures reflect the use of Mexico to smuggle SA heroin into the United States. 
In February 2001, for example, two separate seizures of suspected SA heroin, 
totaling 4.9 kilograms, were made at the airport in Tijuana, Mexico. Also, in 
late 2000, the DEA Houston Field Division reported two seizures of suspected SA 
heroin. Nearly 2 kilograms were seized at a bus terminal in Houston from a 
Colombian female who was traveling from San Antonio to New York City. In the 
other instance, four Venezuelans, in possession of 1.4 kilograms of heroin, were 
arrested at a local hotel.

photo - SA heroin seized in New York on May 16, 2001.  False bottom of plantain box lifted with heroin bricks exposed.More recently, Colombian heroin 
traffickers are using 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 are now being 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.

photo - mexican black tarAlthough 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 a series of recent seizures along the Southwest border. In 
January 2001, the USCS in Del Rio, Texas, seized 42 kilograms of black tar 
heroin. In December 2000, the USCS 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 were 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.

photo - SEA heroinSEA 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.

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 two 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 ranges 
from $1,000 to $2,000 a kilogram, while in Bangkok the West Africans must pay 
between $10,000 and $12,000 for a kilogram.

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 1999, the nationwide average purity for 
retail heroin from all sources was 38.2 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.

photo - SWA heroinMoreover, the DMP indicated that the retail purity of SA heroin was 
the highest for any source, averaging 51.2 percent in 1999. SWA heroin followed 
with a 44.0 percent average. SEA heroin averaged 41.9 percent at the retail 
level and Mexican heroin averaged 27.3 percent, a drop from 33.5 percent in 
1998. Heroin purity at the street level generally remained highest in the 
northeastern United States, where most of the nation’s user population lives. In 
1999, Philadelphia recorded the DMP’s highest heroin purity average of 72.0 
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 
1,575 kilograms of heroin in 2000, compared to 1,149 kilograms in 1999.

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, 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 entrée 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 2000, of the 6,394 clandestine methamphetamine laboratories seized and 
reported to the National Clandestine Laboratory Database at the El Paso 
Intelligence Center (EPIC), only 126 were super labs. In the first 5 months of 
fiscal year (FY) 2001, Mexican law enforcement and military officials seized 15 
clandestine methamphetamine laboratories of unknown production capacity. Twelve 
of the FY 2001 seizures occurred in the border cities of Tijuana and Mexicali in 
the State of Baja California Norte. 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.

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 are experiencing significant 
increases in smuggling activity. The most common method of transporting 
methamphetamine is within concealed compartments in passenger vehicles.

photo - Methamphetamine laboratoryThe 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. The number 
of clandestine methamphetamine laboratories seized nationwide by DEA increased 
from 263 in 1994 to 1,815 in 2000, a 590-percent increase. In addition, state 
and local police agencies seized almost 4,600 clandestine laboratories in the 
United States during 2000.

photo - powder methamphetamine in pound packagesThe vast majority of methamphetamine 
precursor chemicals diverted to clandestine laboratories in the United States 
are dosage-form pseudoephedrine or ephedrine drug products. They are usually 
purchased from U.S. manufacturers and 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.



photo - discarded pseudoephredrine bottlesBecause 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, also 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 have also been 
implicated in supplying U.S. laboratories because of minimal chemical controls 
in Canada. In April 2001, the USCS seized approximately 10,700 kilograms of 
pseudoephedrine from a tractor-trailer attempting to enter the United States 
from Canada at the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit, Michigan. It is estimated that 
this pseudoephedrine had the potential to produce between 2,300 and 2,600 
kilograms of methamphetamine.

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.

photo - crystal methamphetamineThe importation of methamphetamine tablets from 
Southeast Asia, primarily via the mail system, is increasing. 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 likely that larger 
amounts will be smuggled into the United States as 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.

photo - SEA methamphetamine tabletsPrices

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 3,163 
kilograms of methamphetamine in 2000 compared to 2,776 kilograms in 1999.

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.

photo - bluntsMARIJUANA

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.



photo - outdoor grow in HawaiiDomestic 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.

photo - marijuana packaged for saleOrganized 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.



photo - The controlled environment permits year-round cannabis cultivation.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 1,222 metric tons of 
marijuana in 2000 compared to 1,094 metric tons in 1999.



photo - MDMA is often sold at ravesMDMA

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.”

photo - MDMA 'Mitsubishis'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 7 clandestine MDMA laboratories in the United States in 2000 
compared to 19 seized in 1999. 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.

photo - MDMA tabletsMDMA is manufactured clandestinely in Western Europe, particularly in 
the Netherlands and 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 often 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.



photo - MDMA tablets with DEA logophoto - Operation Red Tide began as a result of the largest single seizure of Ecstasy (MDMA).  Over 1,000 pounds (2.1 million tablets) were seized on July 2, 2000, in Los Angeles, CA.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.-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.

USCS statistics show a dramatic increase in seizures of MDMA tablets. In FY 
1997, approximately 400,000 MDMA tablets were seized compared to approximately 
9.3 million tablets seized in FY 2000. On July 22, 2000, approximately 2.1 
million tablets were seized in Los Angeles. To date, this is the largest 
seizures of MDMA tablets in the United States.



photo - examples of LSD blotter paperLSD

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.

photo - LSD gelatin tablets or 'window panes'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

photo - PCP in both crystalline form and a vial of PCP dissolved in waterPhencyclidine (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 PCP is 
being encountered with greater frequency along the Southwest border, 
particularly in Texas.

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 two PCP laboratories in 1999 and two in 
2000.

FLUNITRAZEPAM

photo - the original Rohynpol pillsFlunitrazepam 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.

photo - new Rohynol tablets include a dye that make the drug visible if slipped into a drinkFlunitrazepam 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

photo - Renewtrient and Blue Nitro, GHB precursors, have been removed from the market.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 17 
GHB laboratories in 2000, 10 of which were located 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

photo - steroidsThe 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 and Romanian 
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.