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National Drug Intelligence Center |
The Houston HIDTA region is one of the most significant distribution and transshipment areas in the United States for drugs smuggled from Mexico to U.S. drug markets. Large-scale transportation and distribution of illicit drugs and laundering of illicit drug proceeds are the primary drug-related issues facing the Houston HIDTA region, requiring a large commitment of law enforcement resources from member agencies (as evidenced by the amount of drugs seized.) (See Table 2 in Distribution section.) 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; and New York, New York. Wholesale quantities of ice methamphetamine are transported to the region and distributed to markets in the southeastern and central United States. Heroin, MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, also known as ecstasy), and pharmaceuticals 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 is limited and entails crack cocaine conversion, increasing cannabis cultivation, and decreasing powder methamphetamine production. Crack cocaine conversion occurs throughout the HIDTA, primarily in the Houston metropolitan area--no significant change has occurred over the past several years. The number of indoor cannabis grow sites found in the HIDTA region has increased over the past 2 years. The number of powder methamphetamine laboratory seizures decreased 36 percent from 2005 through 2007 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 1 in Drug Markets section.)
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 primary drug of abuse for many drug abusers in urban areas of the HIDTA region; the drug has had a major impact on the level of violent and property crime occurring in many communities. Ice methamphetamine is being increasingly distributed and abused in many areas of the HIDTA region, fueling 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 and other dangerous drugs (ODDs) are distributed and abused in the HIDTA region as well, particularly among the region's youth. The diversion of pharmaceuticals, such as hydrocodone, is increasing in the HIDTA region, particularly in the Houston area.
Mexican DTOs are the most pervasive organizational threat to the Houston HIDTA region. The proximity of their operations to the U.S.-Mexico border and their access to major drug market areas throughout the United States have enabled Mexican DTOs to emerge as the predominate traffickers in the HIDTA region, in most areas along the U.S.-Mexico border, and in many areas of the United States. Mexican DTOs, particularly DTOs aligned with the Gulf and Sinaloa Cartels, have established bases of operation in the HIDTA region, particularly in Houston and Corpus Christi, where they distribute large quantities of drugs to major market areas throughout the United States. These DTOs compartmentalize their organizations in order to insulate themselves from law enforcement. Mexican DTOs operating within the Houston HIDTA also use advanced communication techniques including prepaid cell phones, satellite phones, and global positioning systems as well as Internet-based methods such as instant messaging, e-mail, social networking web sites, and file sharing web sites to facilitate drug trafficking. For example, traffickers in the HIDTA region sometimes share an e-mail account and communicate by creating draft messages that are saved and can be viewed by anyone within the organization that can access the account. Additionally, Mexican DTOs continually adapt to law enforcement efforts to detect and dismantle their operations, contributing to the magnitude of the threat they pose to the region.
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Drug Trafficking Organizations, Criminal Groups, and Gangs Drug trafficking organizations are complex organizations with highly defined command-and-control structures that produce, transport, and/or distribute large quantities of one or more illicit drugs. Criminal groups operating in the United States are numerous and range from small to moderately sized, loosely knit groups that distribute one or more drugs at the retail level and midlevel. Gangs are defined by the National Alliance of Gang Investigators' Associations as groups or associations of three or more persons with a common identifying sign, symbol, or name, the members of which individually or collectively engage in criminal activity that creates an atmosphere of fear and intimidation. |
Over the past several years, several Mexican DTOs have been engaged in a violent struggle over drug trafficking corridors that transit the U.S.-Mexico border, several of which lead into the Houston HIDTA region. However, recent law enforcement and military operations in Mexico against Mexican DTOs appear to have diverted the attention of the DTOs from each other to Mexican law enforcement and military personnel. Some DTOs have formed alliances to combat increased law enforcement and military operations, since the operations pose a direct threat to the smuggling operations of the DTOs.
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Mexican Law Enforcement Operations in Tamaulipas Mexican law enforcement and military personnel began an operation in several Mexican cities--Matamoros, Rio Bravo, Reynosa, Ciudad Miguel Alemán, and Ciudad Mier--along the U.S.-Mexico border in the state of Tamaulipas in late 2007. Violence in Tamaulipas has substantially increased as a result of this operation. As such, Mexican law enforcement and military personnel reportedly are implementing numerous law enforcement measures, including highway checkpoints and routine flyovers in the area. Mexican authorities also are investigating local police departments, particularly in Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo, and Reynosa, for links to DTOs. These counterdrug measures may impact the flow of drugs into the HIDTA region as traffickers avoid smuggling through this area. |
Other organizations operating in the Houston HIDTA region include African American, Caucasian, Colombian, Dominican, Jamaican, and Asian DTOs and criminal groups. Colombian DTOs transport and distribute illicit drugs, particularly cocaine, in the HIDTA region; they also sell illicit drugs, particularly cocaine, directly to members of Mexican DTOs based in Mexico, who smuggle and distribute the drugs in the HIDTA region on their own behalf. Asian DTOs and criminal groups, particularly Chinese and Vietnamese, 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,1 street gangs, and outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMGs) distribute illicit drugs at the wholesale and retail levels in the Houston HIDTA region. Drug trafficking is the primary source of income for most gangs operating in the area. Most gangs distribute drugs at the retail level; however, some, including Mexican Mafia and Texas Syndicate, have developed ties with Mexican DTOs, enabling them to obtain wholesale quantities of drugs directly from Mexico. Gangs in the region also engage in violent criminal activity, including assault and homicide; such activity poses a considerable threat to public and law enforcement safety.
1. Prison gangs operate within state correctional facilities located in the HIDTA as well as on the streets, particularly in Houston and Corpus Christi.
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