UNCLASSIFIED
ARCHIVED Skip navigation.To Contents     To Previous Page     To Next Page     To Publications Page     To Home Page

Distribution

Mexican DTOs and criminal groups control the wholesale and much of the midlevel distribution of methamphetamine, powder cocaine, marijuana, and heroin in the HIDTA region. They use Kansas City and St. Louis as distribution centers to supply illicit drugs to major market areas throughout the United States as well as to supply dealers in the HIDTA region. Most Mexican DTOs and criminal groups do not stockpile drug shipments for extended periods of time but, rather, use vacant stash houses and apartments for short-term storage and distribution to midlevel dealers. Mexican wholesale and midlevel dealers are the primary sources of supply for Caucasian and African American retailers, conducting most sales through referrals and prearranged meetings rather than in open-air settings.

Mexican DTOs have significantly increased their ice methamphetamine distribution operations in the Midwest HIDTA region over the past few years. Domestic precursor control legislation enacted in 2005 resulted in decreased methamphetamine production throughout the region, a situation that Mexican DTOs exploited by increasing their distribution operations to meet demand for the drug. Law enforcement agencies in most HIDTA drug markets now report that the majority of available methamphetamine is Mexican ice methamphetamine. However, several areas (southeast Kansas; St. Louis, Missouri; Grand Island and Omaha, Nebraska; Fargo and Grand Forks, North Dakota; and central South Dakota and the cities of Sturgis and Pierre) report either limited ice methamphetamine availability or sustained low purity in 2009.

Various ethnic street gangs and criminal groups distribute illicit drugs at the retail level in the Midwest HIDTA region. Retail crack distribution is conducted primarily by African American street gangs and criminal groups at open-air drug markets in many areas, but aggressive law enforcement efforts have forced some of these distributors to conduct sales from apartments or at controlled locations. Hispanic street gangs distribute methamphetamine and marijuana at the retail level, while Caucasian street gangs, criminal groups, and local independent dealers distribute methamphetamine, marijuana, and limited quantities of MDMA at the retail level. Asian street gangs and criminal groups distribute MDMA in Des Moines, Iowa; Columbia, Missouri; the Kansas City metropolitan area; Springfield; St. Louis; and Wichita, Kansas. Various outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMGs) such as El Forastero, Galloping Goose, Invaders, and Sons of Silence distribute methamphetamine and marijuana in the HIDTA region.

To Top      To Contents

 

Drug-Related Crime

High levels of crime in the HIDTA region are often associated with the distribution and abuse of illicit drugs, particularly methamphetamine and crack cocaine. According to the NDIC NDTS 2010, 99 of the 178 federal, state, and local law enforcement respondents in the Midwest HIDTA identify ice or powder methamphetamine as the drug that most contributes to violent crime in their jurisdictions; 51 report the same for crack or powder cocaine. Street gangs and other crack cocaine and methamphetamine distributors commonly commit violent crimes, including assault, carjacking, drive-by shooting, home invasion, robbery, and firearms violations to protect and expand their drug operations. For example, as of October 2009, the St. Louis FBI Combined Enforcement Group had seized six guns and two assault rifles from a gang distributing crack cocaine, heroin, and marijuana in St. Louis City. In addition, in March 2010, a Salina, Kansas, man was sentenced to serve 60 months on a charge of carrying a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking; he carried a .22 caliber handgun when he sold methamphetamine to undercover buyers. Methamphetamine and crack abuse are often associated with domestic violence and child abuse, and abusers often commit property crimes, such as burglary, forgery, fraud, larceny, and identity theft, to support their addictions.


To Top     To Contents     To Previous Page     To Next Page

To Publications Page     To Home Page

UNCLASSIFIED


End of page.