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National Drug Intelligence Center |
Methamphetamine, primarily ice methamphetamine, trafficking and abuse pose the most significant drug threats in the Northern California HIDTA region. Thirty-seven of the 45 state and local law enforcement agencies in the region responding to the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) National Drug Threat Survey3 (NDTS) 2009 identify methamphetamine as the greatest drug threat in their jurisdictions. These respondents also indicate that the majority of incidents involving violent crime and property crime perpetrated in their jurisdictions involve methamphetamine trafficking and abuse. (See Table 4.) Most of the ice methamphetamine available in the area is produced by Mexican DTOs in Mexico and, to a lesser extent, in domestic laboratories in California. However, because of escalating violence among drug cartels in Mexico over the last year and Mexican Government restrictions on precursor chemical imports, HIDTA officials believe that more Mexican DTOs will move their production operations back to the United States, including the Northern California HIDTA region. In 2008, HIDTA law enforcement officers seized more than 500 pounds of methamphetamine (both powder and ice) with an estimated wholesale market value of over $12 million.
Table 4. Northern California Law Enforcement Responses to the National Drug Threat Survey 2009
| Drug | Greatest Drug Threat |
Most Contributes to Violent Crime |
Most Contributes to Property Crime |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ice methamphetamine | 28 | 24 | 29 |
| Powder methamphetamine | 9 | 9 | 8 |
| Marijuana | 3 | 6 | 1 |
| Crack cocaine | 3 | 6 | 5 |
| Powder cocaine | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Heroin | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| CPDs | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Source: National Drug Threat Survey 2009.
Note: Total number of respondents: 45.
Cannabis cultivation operations are extensive and increasing in magnitude throughout the HIDTA region, making northern California one of the most significant marijuana production areas in the nation. According to law enforcement officials, this situation has resulted from a combination of high abuse levels, increasing demand for high-potency marijuana, and the exploitation of state medical marijuana laws by illegal cannabis cultivators and drug traffickers. Additionally, many federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and task forces report an increase in the number of illegal outdoor and indoor cannabis grow sites in their jurisdictions as well as an increase in violent confrontations between law enforcement officers and cultivators who aggressively protect their grow sites--particularly during the September and October harvest season.
Powder and crack cocaine are widely available and frequently abused in the region. Many law enforcement officials and treatment providers report increasing powder cocaine abuse in the region. They attribute the increase, in part, to some methamphetamine abusers, primarily middle- and upper-income Caucasian adults and high school students, switching to powder cocaine as their drug of choice because of media campaigns warning of the dangers associated with methamphetamine abuse and a belief among some abusers that cocaine is safer to use because it is "organic." Moreover, law enforcement officials in many of the large urban areas within the HIDTA region report very high levels of crack cocaine abuse; crack cocaine generally is the most abused illicit drug in urban areas of the region.
The availability and abuse of other illicit drugs cause significant concern to law enforcement officials and treatment providers in the Northern California HIDTA region. Mexican DTOs transport wholesale quantities of black tar heroin and, to a lesser extent, brown powder heroin from Michoacán, Mexico, for distribution within the HIDTA region. Asian criminal groups and street gangs distribute MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, also known as ecstasy), primarily in local nightclubs. These same trafficking groups may also be attempting to introduce other stimulants and hallucinogens to the region. For example, in late 2008, law enforcement officers in Marin and Contra Costa Counties seized MDMA tablets containing a combination of BZP (N-benzylpiperazine) and TFMPP (1-(3-trifluoromethylphenyl)piperazine).4 GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate), ketamine, LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), PCP (phencyclidine), psilocybin, and Rohypnol (flunitrazepam) are distributed and abused to varying degrees throughout the region.
Diverted controlled prescription drugs (CPDs) are a growing threat, according to law enforcement officials in the HIDTA region. CPD abuse is taking place among all age groups and at high levels in the region. Distributors and abusers commonly divert CPDs through doctor-shopping, drug theft, prescription forgery, and Internet purchase. The ease with which drug traffickers and abusers obtain CPDs through the Internet is a growing concern for law enforcement officials and treatment providers in the HIDTA region. Benzodiazepines, hydrocodone, oxycodone, and synthetic opioids are the most frequently abused CPDs.
Mexican DTOs based in the Northern California HIDTA region are the principal illicit drug transporters, wholesale distributors, and producers in the area. Mexican DTOs typically smuggle cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine destined for the Northern California HIDTA region from Mexico through U.S. ports of entry (POEs) in Calexico, San Ysidro, and Otay Mesa, California. They also exploit well-established transportation routes for distribution from the area to drug markets throughout the United States. Moreover, Mexican DTOs operating in the Northern California HIDTA region control local cultivation of large quantities of cannabis and also control methamphetamine and marijuana production operations in the Central Valley of California. Mexican DTOs in the region are based largely on familial ties and typically consist of members who reside in California, Mexico, or various cities throughout the United States.
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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. |
Asian DTOs and criminal groups are the principal suppliers of Canadian high-potency marijuana and MDMA. They are also expanding their indoor cannabis cultivation operations in the Northern California HIDTA region. The drug trafficking threat they pose to the area is increasing but is not as extensive as that posed by Mexican DTOs. Asian DTOs primarily transport high-potency marijuana, commonly known as BC Bud, and MDMA (including MDMA combined with methamphetamine) from Canada for distribution in the Northern California HIDTA region. They are also the primary MDMA distributors in many areas throughout the region. Asian drug traffickers are increasingly cultivating cannabis at indoor grow sites that are typically located at residences in new communities within the HIDTA region. Such residences are often procured through fraudulent mortgage financing. Asian DTOs typically restrict involvement in their drug trafficking operations to individuals of similar race/ethnicity and familial affiliation. Many Asian DTOs and criminal groups distribute illicit drugs at the midlevel and retail level in the area; Vietnamese groups are predominant.
Hispanic, African American, and Asian street gangs; Hispanic and African American prison gangs; and outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMGs) are of particular concern to law enforcement officials in the Northern California HIDTA region. These gangs are extremely violent in establishing or maintaining control of their drug trafficking activities. Hispanic street gangs, primarily affiliates of the Sureños and Norteños gangs, are involved in midlevel and retail-level distribution of methamphetamine, marijuana, cocaine, and heroin. According to law enforcement officials throughout the North Bay Area, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of Sureños gang members relocating to their jurisdictions in an attempt to overtake traditionally held Norteños territories. African American street gang members, primarily affiliates of Bloods and Crips, distribute crack cocaine and marijuana at the retail level in the HIDTA region. Asian street gangs such as Wah Ching and Asian Boyz are involved primarily in retail-level MDMA and marijuana distribution. Prison gangs such as Border Brothers and Kumi Nation are involved in the midlevel and retail-level distribution of methamphetamine, crack cocaine, and marijuana. Members of OMGs, most notably Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC), are active in the midlevel and retail-level distribution of powder cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana.
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Twenty-Nine Individuals Indicted in Racketeering Probe Targeting MS 13 Street Gang In October 2008, 22 members of La Mara Salvatrucha (MS 13) from the San Francisco Bay area were indicted on federal racketeering and other charges arising from their participation in the gang. Seven additional individuals were also charged with racketeering offenses ranging from illicit drug trafficking to firearms trafficking and attempted exportation of stolen vehicles. The investigation leading to these arrests was part of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) nationwide initiative known as Operation Community Shield, created to combat the escalating problem of transnational and other violent street gangs across the country. Operation Community Shield began in February 2005 in partnership with other federal, state, and local law enforcement and probation officers as well as prosecutors. This initiative focuses on developing comprehensive and integrated approaches to criminal investigations and other law enforcement operations against these violent street gang members. Since 2005, participants of this initiative in the Northern California HIDTA region have arrested 561 gang members and associates from 18th Street Gang (the Salvadoran rival of MS 13), Barrio Naked City, Latin Kings, and Sureños. Source: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. |
3.
National Drug Threat Survey (NDTS) data for 2009 cited in this report are as of
February 12, 2009. NDTS data cited are raw, unweighted responses from federal, state,
and local law enforcement agencies solicited through either the National Drug Intelligence
Center (NDIC) or the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) High Intensity
Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program. Data cited may include responses from agencies
that are part of the NDTS 2009 national sample and/or agencies that are part of
HIDTA solicitation lists.
4.
BZP is a common name for the synthetic stimulant N-benzylpiperazine. BZP tablets, especially
those that also contain the hallucinogen TFMPP (1-(3-trifluoromethyl-phenyl)piperazine),
are often sold as MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, also known as ecstasy)
or promoted as an alternative to MDMA.
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