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U.S. Department of Justice
National Drug Intelligence Center
Lake County HIDTA Drug Market Analysis 2010
April 2010
The Lake County HIDTA region--located in Northwest Indiana adjacent to the Chicago, Illinois, metropolitan area--serves principally as a distribution area for Chicago-based traffickers. (See Figure 1.) Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) store large quantities of illicit drugs in the urban areas of East Chicago, Gary, and Hammond, Indiana, for regional distribution. In fact, Lake County is evolving into a regional storage area for commercial-grade Mexican marijuana. Moreover, Gary is a significant distribution center for illicit drugs sold within the region. Street gangs control most retail-level drug distribution. Street gang members are responsible for high levels of violent crime, not only in Lake County but also in Chicago and the Great Lakes region, by supplying firearms to criminal associates in those areas.
The Lake County HIDTA region has a diverse demographic and socioeconomic composition. The northern tier of the county, where most drug trafficking occurs, includes the three largest cities in the HIDTA region: East Chicago, Gary, and Hammond. These cities have relatively high crime rates, significantly low median household incomes, and declining urban environments that include abandoned factories and buildings. Conversely, the southern part of Lake County contains affluent suburban and rural communities that have lower crime rates, higher median household incomes, and commercial and residential development. Traffickers and abusers in these areas typically travel to northern, urban areas of the region and to Chicago to obtain drugs. Moreover, abusers in neighboring Porter County are increasingly obtaining illicit drugs in the Lake County HIDTA region.
UNCLASSIFIED
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