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Distribution

Drug distribution in the PR/USVI HIDTA region consists primarily of midlevel and retail-level distribution; wholesale quantities of illicit drugs are typically transshipped to the CONUS and to other areas, such as Africa, Canada, and Europe. Dominican and Puerto Rican DTOs and gangs dominate retail drug distribution in Puerto Rico and are frequently part of the same organizations. Colombian, Dominican, Puerto Rican, and USVI DTOs and gangs are the most common retail-level distributors in the USVI. Most retail drug distribution takes place in public housing projects and lower-income neighborhoods. Moreover, DTOs are increasingly recruiting middle-aged men to distribute drugs from their public housing apartments--DTOs believe that these men attract less attention from law enforcement than younger traffickers, according to the FBI San Juan Field Division.

Drug traffickers in the PR/USVI HIDTA region typically communicate using cellular telephones and the Internet. They routinely use cellular telephones to coordinate drug transportation and distribution in Puerto Rico and the USVI. The FBI San Juan Field Division reports that gangs most commonly communicate using cellular telephones; they also use prepaid calling cards, two-way radios, and landline telephones. PR/USVI HIDTA investigations reveal that DTOs frequently use the Internet to conduct online chats and exchange e-mails in order to coordinate drug shipments from South America to Puerto Rico; some of these communications have been linked to Colombian and Dominican DTOs.

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Drug-Related Crime

Drug-related violence is endemic in Puerto Rico. Homicide rates typically rank among the highest in the United States, and law enforcement officials report that most of these homicides are related to drug trafficking. DTOs and gangs frequently use intimidation, violence, and murder to gain and retain control of retail drug markets in the region.

Firearms legally and illegally transported into the PR/USVI HIDTA region from the CONUS, particularly Florida, are of significant concern to law enforcement officials in Puerto Rico, which is a principal destination for these firearms. For instance, in May 2008, 111 members of a DTO were indicted in Puerto Rico on seven federal violations, including firearms and drug trafficking. The leaders of the DTO allegedly oversaw a group of subordinates managing distribution activities at the numerous drug points under their control. The leaders would subsequently divide the illicit drug proceeds among themselves and their subordinates. Some of the members routinely possessed, carried, and used firearms to protect themselves and the drug trafficking operations. DTO members also used violence, force, and intimidation to gain or maintain control of the operations.

Corruption among local law enforcement officers has been an ongoing problem throughout the PR/USVI HIDTA for many years; in 2008 federal authorities uncovered and addressed significant drug-related police corruption in the region. In December 2008, federal agents arrested several members of the Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPD) Special Arrests and Extraditions Division for conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right, possession of cocaine and heroin with intent to distribute, and carrying firearms in connection with drug trafficking, among other allegations. The officers, in return for cash payments, filed misleading paperwork to obtain temporary custody of inmates detained in Puerto Rican correctional facilities. The officers provided surveillance and protection as they transported the inmates in marked police cruisers to drug distribution sites. Incidents of police corruption have severely undermined the public's confidence in the police department's ability to protect them by deterring and combating crime.


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