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Distribution

Mexican DTOs dominate wholesale cocaine and marijuana distribution in the Lake County HIDTA region. Mexican DTOs supply street gang members and independent dealers in Chicago and Lake County. Wholesale quantities of cocaine and marijuana are generally stored in and distributed from the region; wholesale quantities of heroin and methamphetamine are generally not available in Lake County. Heroin abusers and distributors typically travel to Chicago to obtain smaller quantities of the drug. However, law enforcement officials report that the availability of heroin in Lake County is increasing. Wholesale quantities of illicit drugs entering Lake County are generally quickly offloaded and distributed to midlevel dealers and street gang members. Law enforcement officials report that wholesale quantities of cocaine and marijuana are often transported by Mexican DTOs in tractor-trailers into the HIDTA region; these shipments are typically delivered to warehouses or remote sites where they are unloaded and quickly distributed to multiple drug traffickers.

Street gang members and independent dealers are the primary retail drug distributors in the Lake County HIDTA region. Open-air drug distribution markets are typically located in the metropolitan areas of Gary, Hammond, and East Chicago. In response to law enforcement initiatives targeting open-air drug markets, street gangs continually change the locations where they conduct illicit drug transactions. Some of these open-air markets are located near off-ramps of exits along Interstate 80/94 to accommodate out-of-town heroin abusers who regularly purchase the drug. Additionally, street gangs conduct countersurveillance on law enforcement and take precautions to avoid exposing themselves to law enforcement investigations. For example, street gang members often utilize multiple cell phones, typically prepaid and push-to-talk phones, to conduct drug transactions.


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