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U.S. Department of Justice
National Drug Intelligence Center
North Texas HIDTA Drug Market Analysis 2010
June 2010
The North Texas HIDTA region encompasses 15 northern Texas counties (most of which are located in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, the largest metropolitan area in size and population in Texas) and 6 Oklahoma counties (including Oklahoma and Tulsa Counties, where the state's two largest cities by population are located). (See Figure 1.) Approximately 7 million residents, or 28 percent of the Texas population, reside in the Texas portion of the North Texas HIDTA region, and more than 1.7 million residents, or 48 percent of the Oklahoma population, reside in the Oklahoma portion. This large population base is ethnically diverse, particularly in the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area, where more than a million residents are foreign-born and nearly 29 percent of the population is Hispanic. The diverse population of the North Texas HIDTA region enables members of ethnic-based DTOs, criminal groups, and gangs to easily assimilate within communities and divert attention from their drug trafficking activities.
The North Texas HIDTA region's extensive transportation infrastructure and strategic proximity to Mexico contribute to making the region an attractive area for DTOs to conduct their criminal activities. Drug traffickers exploit the region's intricate network of highway systems for the northbound flow of illicit drugs from the Southwest Border to U.S. drug markets and the southbound flow of bulk cash and monetary instrumentsa to drug source areas primarily in Mexico. Interstates 20, 30, 35, 40, and 44 are main corridors that intersect the HIDTA region and link its primary drug markets (Dallas/Fort Worth and Oklahoma City) to the Southwest Border and to major U.S. markets in the Midwest, Northeast, and Southeast. (See Figure 2.) Air transportation in the North Texas HIDTA region offers additional potential for exploitation by drug traffickers. The Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) provides nonstop service to 140 domestic and 40 international destinations. It is the third-busiest airport in the world in terms of aircraft movement and the eighth-busiest in terms of passenger traffic. The HIDTA region also has numerous private airports, buses, trains, and package delivery services that traffickers could exploit to transport contraband. Although a significant portion of illicit drug shipments transported to the North Texas HIDTA region is intended for local distribution, many drug shipments are stored at stash houses in the area and transshipped to other U.S. drug markets. National Seizure System (NSS) data for 2009 indicate that illicit drugs originating from locations in the HIDTA region were destined for drug markets in states such as Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
The attractiveness of the North Texas HIDTA region to DTOs is further enhanced by the region's financial infrastructure, diverse businesses, major industries, and multinational corporations. In 2009, the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area was home to 24 Fortune 500 companies and was the third-highest metropolitan area in the nation based on the number of large corporate headquarters. The presence of these major companies in the metropolitan area contributes greatly to the economic viability of the region. Drug traffickers seeking opportunities to launder illicit drug proceeds are particularly drawn to the Dallas/Fort Worth area because of its status as a principal banking and financial center in the Southwest.
Dallas and Tarrant Counties also have one of the largest concentrations of licensed firearms dealers in the state. Drug traffickers and other criminal groups take advantage of the many firearms businesses and gun shows in the HIDTA region to purchase firearms for their criminal operations or for smuggling to Mexico on behalf of Mexican DTOs.
a. Monetary instruments include U.S. or foreign coins currently in circulation, currency, traveler's checks in any form, money orders, and negotiable instruments or investment securities in bearer form, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
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