National
Drug Intelligence Center Houston High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis June 2007 Drug Threat OverviewThe Houston HIDTA region is a primary distribution and transshipment area in the United States for drugs smuggled from Mexico to U.S. drug markets. The large-scale transportation and distribution of illicit drugs and laundering of drug proceeds are the most significant illicit drug issues facing the Houston HIDTA region, requiring a large commitment of law enforcement resources from member agencies in the HIDTA region as shown by the amount of drugs seized in the HIDTA region. (See Table 1.) Wholesale quantities of illicit drugs, particularly cocaine and marijuana, are transported from Mexico through South Texas to the HIDTA region, primarily to Houston and Corpus Christi, where they are distributed to major markets throughout the United States, including Atlanta, Georgia; Chicago, Illinois; Dallas, Texas; Denver, Colorado; Detroit, Michigan; Los Angeles, California; New York, New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and St. Louis, Missouri. Wholesale quantities of ice methamphetamine are transported to the region and distributed to markets in the southeastern and central United States. Heroin and MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, also known as ecstasy) are also distributed to markets outside the HIDTA region, but to a much lesser extent. Additionally, some wholesale quantities of drugs remain in the HIDTA region for local distribution.
Illicit drug production in the Houston HIDTA region generally entails crack conversion, limited cannabis cultivation, and decreasing methamphetamine production. The number of seized methamphetamine laboratories decreased 81 percent from 2004 to 2006 in the Houston HIDTA region, a development that can be largely attributed to an influx of ice methamphetamine from Mexico, recently enacted precursor chemical control legislation, and successful law enforcement programs. (See Table 2.)
The distribution and abuse of illicit drugs in the Houston HIDTA region place substantial societal and financial burdens on communities and local, state, and federal agencies. Crack cocaine is the drug of choice for many drug abusers in urban areas of the HIDTA region and has had a major impact on the level of violent and property crime occurring in many communities. Ice methamphetamine is increasingly being distributed and abused in many areas of the HIDTA region, increasing methamphetamine-related treatment admissions and crime in these areas. Heroin abuse is a substantial problem in some HIDTA communities because of its highly addictive nature. MDMA, other dangerous drugs (ODDs), and pharmaceuticals, including codeine cough syrup and hydrocodone, are distributed and abused in the HIDTA region as well, particularly among the region's youth.
Drug Trafficking OrganizationsMexican DTOs pose the most significant organizational drug trafficking threat to the Houston HIDTA region. Mexican DTOs have established bases of operation in the HIDTA region, particularly in Houston and Corpus Christi, from which they distribute large quantities of drugs to major market areas throughout the United States. Proximity to the U.S.-Mexico border and access to major drug market areas throughout the United States provide Mexican DTOs based in Mexico and in the HIDTA region with an ideal location in which to operate. Mexican DTOs have established sophisticated trafficking networks that rely upon organization compartmentalization, alliances among DTOs, comprehensive security networks, and advanced communication techniques to conceal their drug trafficking activities from law enforcement. Contributing to the magnitude of this threat is the ease with which Mexican DTOs adapt to law enforcement efforts to detect and dismantle their operations. Mexican DTOs--especially the Gulf Cartel and The Alliance--operating in the Laredo and Rio Grande Valley smuggling corridors, which lead into the Houston HIDTA region--are engaged in a violent struggle for control of these areas. Violence has escalated along the border, particularly in Nuevo Laredo, where the Alliance is vying for control of key smuggling corridors that have been dominated by the Gulf Cartel. The Gulf Cartel exerts considerable influence over Mexican transportation routes through Matamoros, Reynosa, Camargo, Miguel Alemán, and Nuevo Laredo. The Gulf Cartel also is the most dominant DTO operating along the PINS and has nearly exclusive control of smuggling vessels heading north past Matamoros en route to the United States. The cartel uses Los Zetas, a paramilitary/criminal organization composed of deserters from the Mexican army's elite Special Air Mobile Forces, for enforcement. The Alliance, also known as The Federation and The Golden Triangle, was formed in 2003 to counter the Gulf Cartel and is composed of leaders of several Mexican DTOs that use Los Negros (also known as Los Lobos), a paramilitary/criminal group, for enforcement. Other organizations operating in the Houston HIDTA region include African American, Caucasian, Colombian, Dominican, Jamaican, and Asian DTOs and criminal groups. The presence of Colombian DTOs has decreased in the region in recent years; they increasingly sell illicit drugs, particularly cocaine, directly to Mexican DTOs, who smuggle and distribute the drugs. Asian DTOs and criminal groups, particularly Chinese and Vietnamese groups, are the principal MDMA traffickers in the HIDTA region; they transport MDMA from Canada, primarily through Los Angeles, to Houston for distribution. Additionally, Asian DTOs have been linked to indoor cannabis cultivation in the region. Prison gangs, street gangs, and outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMGs) distribute illicit drugs at the wholesale and retail levels in the Houston HIDTA region. The majority of gangs in the region use drug trafficking as their main source of income. Although most gangs distribute drugs at the retail level, some have developed relationships with Mexican DTOs that allow them to obtain wholesale quantities of drugs directly from Mexico. These gangs are most prevalent in metropolitan areas, including Houston, Corpus Christi, and Beaumont, where violence associated with their drug- and gang-related activities is a considerable threat to public and law enforcement safety. (See Table 3.)
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