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New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis
June 2007

Distribution

DTOs, criminal groups, and independent distributors of various nationalities and ethnicities/races (see Table 1 in Appendix C) sell illicit drugs at the wholesale, midlevel, and retail levels in the HIDTA region. Colombian organizations are involved in the wholesale distribution of most illicit drugs. Dominican DTOs distribute wholesale quantities of cocaine and SA heroin in the region, sometimes on behalf of Colombian DTOs and, other times, working independently. Mexican DTOs are involved in the wholesale distribution of Mexican marijuana, cocaine, and SA heroin; their involvement in drug distribution within the region is increasing. Israeli organizations are the primary wholesale distributors of MDMA in the region; however, Dominican DTOs have increased their role and are now heavily involved. Jamaican DTOs dominate distribution of wholesale quantities of Mexican and Jamaican marijuana in the region. No particular ethnic group controls the retail trade of any drug in the HIDTA region. The ethnic/racial makeup of the neighborhood in which drugs are sold generally determines which organizations have control in that area.

In the Upstate New York counties of the HIDTA region, illicit drugs are distributed at the wholesale level by Hispanic, Dominican, and African American DTOs and at the midlevel and retail level by those DTOs as well as by street gangs and various independent dealers; gang members are the primary retail-level distributors of cocaine and heroin in the upstate counties. Some DTOs from New York City are expanding their operations into the upstate counties because of the increased profit margins and new consumer bases available there.15 The profit margin for heroin is particularly high,16 prompting some DTOs to increase their upstate heroin activities. As the upstate drug trade has increased, the major population centers (Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse) of the upstate counties have became distribution hubs for the surrounding communities.

Retail distributors use cell phones to facilitate drug sales in the HIDTA region. Distributors are using pagers far less often than in the past and, instead, are frequently negotiating transactions and prearranging meetings with customers by cell phone. Traffickers prefer to conduct these business conversations on phones with point-to-point capabilities because these communications are much more difficult for law enforcement to intercept. Distributors also use the cell phones' text feature to communicate and arrange meetings. To further reduce the possibility of having calls monitored, they typically use cell phones for a limited time before switching to a new phone with a new number.

DTOs in the HIDTA region are distributing drugs through Internet web sites. Law enforcement reporting indicates that distributors are selling methamphetamine in the area on Internet web sites, using chat rooms and Internet bulletin boards to facilitate distribution of the drug. Further, distributors and abusers are increasingly obtaining prescription opiates and other pharmaceuticals from Internet pharmacies, including those operated on Canadian web sites. Internet pharmacies are becoming increasingly popular among distributors and abusers of opiates because local doctors, recognizing the high abuse potential of prescription opiates, have become less willing to prescribe these drugs. Some distributors also use web sites to advertise their services or electronic messaging to contact customers and arrange drug transactions.


End Notes

15. This expansion may take the form of a DTO member driving up to the city for a few days, setting up a drug distribution operation in a hotel room, and then driving back to New York City.
16. According to DEA, in the first quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2007, an ounce of heroin sold for $1,300 to $2,900 in New York City, $2,800 to $5,000 in eastern Upstate New York, and $2,800 to $5,500 in western New York.


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