National Drug Intelligence Center   Ohio High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis 2008   May 2008

Production

Illicit drug production in the Ohio HIDTA region primarily involves the conversion of powder cocaine into crack, cannabis cultivation, and limited, small-scale methamphetamine production. Large amounts of powder cocaine are converted to crack by African American criminal groups and street gangs, typically at or near local distribution sites in the region. However, African American criminal groups that operate in Columbus reportedly transport crack cocaine to Fairfield County.

Cannabis is cultivated in the Ohio HIDTA region at both indoor and outdoor grow sites; however, indoor grow sites are more common. Most indoor cultivation is conducted by local Caucasian producers, although African American producers also cultivate cannabis in Mahoning and Warren Counties. Additionally, in the first half of 2007, law enforcement officials in counties surrounding the Cleveland metropolitan area discovered several sophisticated indoor grow sites operated by Vietnamese criminal groups. Indoor cannabis cultivation in the HIDTA region typically occurs in private residences and often employs sophisticated watering and ventilation systems to support the production of high-potency marijuana. Outdoor cannabis grow site operators occasionally use techniques designed to prevent detection by law enforcement, including planting several small plots rather than a single large site. This method was used by growers in Mahoning County, where law enforcement officials discovered approximately 500 marijuana plants that growers had scattered in small plots throughout a field.

Methamphetamine production in the HIDTA region has declined significantly since peaking in 2005, the result of statewide precursor chemical control legislation, aggressive law enforcement efforts, and public awareness campaigns. This decline is evidenced by National Seizure System (NSS) data that reveal a significant decrease in the number of methamphetamine laboratories seized by law enforcement officials in the HIDTA region between 2005 (69) and 2007 (33). (See Table 2.) Most of the methamphetamine laboratory seizures in the HIDTA region occur in Summit County.

Table 2. Methamphetamine Laboratory Seizures by County, Ohio HIDTA, 2003-2008*

Source: National Seizure System data run on 4/29/08.
* Partial year data as of 4/29/08.

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Transportation

The extensive interstate highway system in Ohio is routinely exploited by traffickers to transport drugs into and throughout the HIDTA region in private and commercial vehicles. Traffickers primarily use north-south highways such as Interstates 71, 75, and 77 and east-west highways such as I-70 and I-80/90 to transport illicit drugs from distribution centers along the Southwest Border. (See Figure 2.) Traffickers also use couriers on commercial airlines and package delivery services to transport illicit drugs to the area.

Figure 2. Ohio HIDTA region transportation infrastructure.

d-link

Mexican DTOs are the primary transporters of illicit drugs into the Ohio HIDTA region; they generally transport wholesale quantities of cocaine, marijuana, Mexican brown powder and black tar heroin, and limited amounts of ice methamphetamine. Mexican traffickers are increasingly transporting cocaine and marijuana directly from locations along the Southwest Border to Akron, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Toledo, and Youngstown rather than through major drug distribution centers such as Chicago and Detroit, as in previous years. They have also increased the amount of Mexican heroin that they are transporting into the HIDTA region, particularly to Columbus and Dayton. According to the South Central Drug Task Force, Mexican traffickers operating in Columbus typically transport small amounts of heroin in each shipment in contrast to the larger quantities of cocaine and marijuana that they transport. Officials believe that Mexican traffickers use smaller heroin shipments to avoid the possibility of large losses in the event that shipments are seized by law enforcement.

Dominican, Puerto Rican, Jamaican, and Somali traffickers also transport various drugs into the HIDTA region. Dominican and Puerto Rican DTOs and criminal groups primarily transport SA heroin and cocaine, while Jamaican DTOs transport significant amounts of marijuana. These DTOs and criminal groups transport drugs principally to northeastern Ohio HIDTA markets from New York City, Chicago, and Detroit, using private vehicles. Somali criminal groups transport wholesale quantities of khat into the Columbus area for local consumption, predominantly within the city's Somali community. These groups previously used package delivery services to ship khat into the city; however, law enforcement reporting indicates that they are now transporting the drug into the area from New York City primarily in private vehicles.

Traffickers also transport illicit drugs into the Ohio HIDTA region using couriers on commercial flights, package delivery services, and the mail; however, traffickers use these methods less often than overland transportation and generally only for smaller quantities of drugs. Nonetheless, law enforcement officials recently disrupted the operations of a California-based African American criminal group that used couriers to transport kilogram quantities of cocaine on flights from Los Angeles and Las Vegas to Cleveland. (See text box.) Moreover, traffickers have reportedly used package delivery services to ship pharmaceutical drugs and MDMA to abusers who purchased the drugs from the traffickers over the Internet. For example, abusers in the HIDTA region often acquire pharmaceutical drugs over the Internet and have them shipped through package delivery services; shipments originate in various locations, including California, Florida, Argentina, and Canada. Additionally, the Stark County Violent Crimes Task Force reports that a recent investigation revealed that a local Caucasian distributor had been using the Internet to place orders for MDMA from either China or Canada. He had the packages, each containing thousands of MDMA tablets, mailed to multiple post office boxes that he set up in Stark County. The MDMA was distributed throughout Stark and Summit Counties and to individuals traveling to the area from cities in southern Ohio, including Columbus.

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