To Contents
To Next Page
To Publications Page
To Home Page
U.S. Department of Justice
National Drug Intelligence Center
Midwest HIDTA Drug Market Analysis 2010
May 2010
The Midwest HIDTA region consists of 73 counties in a seven-state area that stretches from North Dakota to Missouri. (See Figure 1.) Mexican traffickers exploit the extensive interstate highway network and central location of the HIDTA region to transship wholesale quantities of ice methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana, and heroin from the Southwest Border area to national-level markets in the Midwest and Northeast, including Chicago and New York City. The HIDTA region also is vulnerable to drug trafficking from the Northern Border, since North Dakota shares a 300-mile-long border and 18 official land ports of entry (POEs) with Canada. (See Figure 5.) The area between Northern Border POEs is isolated, rural, and rife with opportunities for drug traffickers and criminal groups to smuggle Canadian marijuana, MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, also referred to as ecstasy), and pseudoephedrine and ephedrine (methamphetamine precursor chemicals) into the HIDTA region.a
Figure 1. Midwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area
A significant portion of the drugs that enter the Midwest HIDTA region are abused in local drug markets. The region's primary markets are Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri; Omaha, Nebraska; as well as Des Moines/Cedar Rapids, Iowa; its secondary markets are Fargo/Grand Forks, North Dakota; Sioux City, Iowa/Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Springfield, Missouri; and Wichita, Kansas. (See Appendix A.) The widespread distribution and abuse of crack cocaine and ice methamphetamine and associated violence are the primary drug threats in these market areas.
a. Law enforcement officials believe that available arrest and seizure statistics underrepresent the level of smuggling along the U.S.-Canada border.
UNCLASSIFIED
End of page.
