Heroin

Heroin poses a threat to Florida. The drug is readily available, frequently abused, and the distribution of heroin is occasionally associated with violent crimes such as assault, drive-by shooting, and homicide. South American heroin is most prevalent; however, Mexican black tar heroin and brown powdered heroin also are available, although to a limited degree. Southeast and Southwest Asian heroin are rarely available in Florida. Miami and, to a lesser extent, Orlando are among the primary transportation hubs and transshipment points for South American heroin smuggled into the United States. Colombian DTOs and criminal groups control the transportation of South American heroin into Florida using Colombian, Dominican, Jamaican, Puerto Rican and, to a lesser extent, Mexican criminal groups. South American heroin generally is transported into Florida by air, although maritime and overland conveyances also are used. Mexican criminal groups are the dominant transporters of Mexican black tar and Mexican brown powdered heroin into Florida. These groups generally transport the drug into the state in private vehicles and via package delivery services. Colombian criminal groups control the wholesale distribution of South American heroin in Florida; Puerto Rican and Dominican criminal groups, African American and Hispanic gangs, and various local independent dealers are the primary retail distributors. Wholesale quantities of Mexican black tar or brown powdered heroin rarely are available in Florida. Mexican and Puerto Rican criminal groups, Hispanic and African American gangs, and local independent dealers are the primary retail distributors of Mexican black tar and brown powdered heroin in Florida. Retail quantities of heroin usually are packaged in bindles (approximately one-tenth gram folded in tinfoil) and sold at open-air drug markets, from parked vehicles and residences, and in nightclubs, bars, and other clubs. Retail distributors also sell heroin to known associates and often arrange meetings with customers using pagers.

Abuse

Heroin is abused increasingly in Florida. According to TEDS data, the number of heroin-related treatment admissions in Florida increased from 1,669 in 1997 to 3,723 in 2001, peaking at 4,201 in 2000. (See Table 3 in Overview section.) However, the number of heroin-related treatment admissions per 100,000 population (32) in Florida was dramatically lower than the number per 100,000 population nationwide (105) in 1999, the most recent year for which these data are available.

Heroin abuse often is cited in drug-related deaths in Florida. According to the 2001 Report of Drugs Identified in Deceased Persons by Florida Medical Examiners, there were 328 heroin-related deaths in the state in 2001. Of the 328 heroin-related deaths, 271 were overdoses. Most of the heroin-related deaths occurred in the West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, and Miami areas. According to DAWN mortality data, heroin-related deaths in Miami-Dade County increased dramatically from 1996 through 2000. Heroin was a factor in 29 deaths in Miami-Dade County in 1996 and in 86 deaths in 2000.

Miami has a significant number of ED mentions associated with heroin abuse. The number of heroin-related ED mentions in Miami increased steadily from 591 in 1997 to 1,666 in 2001, a 182 percent increase. The rate of heroin-related ED mentions per 100,000 population in Miami also increased from 32 in 1997 to 81 in 2001.

The percentage of Florida high school students reporting having abused heroin at least once in their lifetime is statistically comparable to the national percentage. According to 2001 YRBS data, 3.7 percent of Florida high school students surveyed reported having abused heroin at least once in their lifetime, compared to 3.1 percent nationwide.

Heroin was occasionally detected among adult male arrestees in Miami and Fort Lauderdale in 2000. According to ADAM data, 4.0 percent of adult male arrestees in Miami and 2.1 percent of adult male arrestees in Fort Lauderdale tested positive for heroin abuse in 2000. (See Table 2 in Overview section.)

In Florida heroin is administered via a variety of methods depending upon users' preferences. Heroin injectors are mostly hardcore addicts who often share needles. According to DEA and local law enforcement officials throughout the state, novices and recreational abusers prefer snorting or, to a lesser extent, smoking heroin in part because of a reduced risk of contracting needle-borne diseases such as AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) and hepatitis. Many of these abusers mistakenly believe that snorting or smoking will not lead to addiction.

Various treatment providers report that a relatively new trend in Florida involves some abusers of prescription opiates, particularly OxyContin, switching to high purity heroin that can be effectively snorted or smoked. OxyContin and other prescription opiates are becoming more expensive and difficult to obtain in Florida because doctors are increasingly reluctant to prescribe them.

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Availability

Heroin is readily available in Florida, primarily in major metropolitan areas. According to federal, state, and local law enforcement officials, heroin is readily available in and around cities such as Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville. South American heroin is most prevalent; however, Mexican black tar heroin and brown powdered heroin also are available, although to a lesser extent. Southeast and Southwest Asian heroin are rarely available in Florida. According to FDSS data, the amount of heroin seized by federal law enforcement officials in Florida fluctuated but increased overall from 478 kilograms in 1997 to 634 kilograms in 2001. (See Table 1 in Overview section.)

The price of heroin in Florida varies, depending on a number of factors including the buyer's familiarity with the seller, the location of sale, and the quantity sold. According to the DEA Miami Division, in the second quarter of FY2002, 1 kilogram of heroin sold for $60,000 to $100,000 in southern Florida and for $60,000 to $75,000 in central Florida. DEA also reported that ounce quantities of heroin sold for $2,600 to $4,000 in southern Florida and $2,200 to $3,000 in central Florida. Kilogram and ounce prices were not reported for northern Florida in the second quarter of FY2002. According to DEA, gram quantities of heroin sold for $60 to $120 in southern Florida, $60 to $100 in central Florida, and $140 to $220 in northern Florida during that period.

Heroin purity levels in Florida are high. According to the Central Florida HIDTA Heroin Task Force, which monitors heroin data statewide, wholesale or kilogram quantities of heroin in Florida were approximately 80 to 90 percent pure in the second quarter of FY2002, while midlevel or ounce quantities were approximately 40 to 60 percent pure. DEA also reported that retail quantities of heroin (grams or less) were 20 to 40 percent pure. Bulk quantities of heroin frequently are cut with diluents such as lactose, cellulose, and mannitol or adulterants such as procaine, caffeine, and quinine.

The percentage of heroin-related federal sentences in Florida was higher than the percentage nationwide each year from FY1997 through FY2001. According to USSC data, 15.0 percent of drug-related federal sentences in Florida in FY2001 were heroin-related, compared with 7.2 percent nationwide. In FY2001 heroin-related sentences accounted for a higher percentage of total federal drug-related sentences in the Southern District of Florida than in the two other districts in the state. In that year the percentage of heroin-related federal sentences was 21.1 percent in Southern Florida and 7.0 percent in Middle Florida. There were no heroin-related federal sentences in Northern Florida.

Violence

Heroin abuse normally is not associated with violent behavior, although the overwhelming need to support their drug habits drives many heroin abusers to engage in prostitution, drug distribution, theft, burglary, and robbery. Abusers often steal from family members to obtain the funds necessary to purchase heroin.

Heroin distributors in Florida sometimes commit violent crimes such as assault, drive-by shooting, and homicide. According to local law enforcement officials in Jacksonville, heroin and cocaine distributors compete to sell their drugs at the same street corners, resulting in an increase in the level of violence in areas where that activity occurs.

Production

Opium is not cultivated nor is heroin produced in Florida. Heroin is produced in four source regions: South America, Southeast Asia, Southwest Asia, and Mexico. Most of the heroin available in Florida is produced in South America and, to a lesser extent, Mexico.

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Transportation

Miami and Orlando are among the primary transportation hubs and transshipment points for South American heroin smuggled into the United States. A significant portion of the South American heroin smuggled into Florida is transshipped to other states, principally in the northeastern and, to a lesser extent, southeastern United States. Colombian DTOs and criminal groups control the transportation of South American heroin into Florida using Colombian, Dominican, and Puerto Rican criminal groups and, to a lesser extent, Mexican criminal groups. South American heroin generally is transported into Florida by air, although maritime and overland conveyances also are used. Mexican criminal groups are the dominant transporters of Mexican black tar and brown powdered heroin to Florida. Mexican criminal groups generally transport Mexican heroin into the state in private vehicles and via package delivery services.

Couriers on commercial and private aircraft are the primary means by which South American heroin is smuggled into Florida; however, various other means also are used. Couriers smuggling South American heroin frequently arrive on direct flights from Colombia or take indirect flights to Miami or Orlando by transiting countries such as Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama, Jamaica, and Costa Rica. Couriers often conceal heroin internally, tape the drug to their bodies, or hide it in clothing. When concealing the drug internally, couriers swallow latex fingers of gloves or condoms, known as pellets, which contain approximately 10 grams of heroin each. Couriers sometimes swallow as many as 100 pellets--a kilogram of heroin. On May 27, 2001, USCS arrested a male courier arriving at Miami International Airport who had ingested 1.14 kilograms of heroin in this manner. Heroin also is hidden in luggage with clothing or inside false compartments. Heroin in air cargo shipments typically is packaged inside a container or box or intermingled with legitimate products. USCS officials in Florida seized over 501 kilograms of heroin from commercial and private aircraft in 2001. Federal, state, and local law enforcement officials seized 16 kilograms of heroin on commercial and private aircraft as part of Operation Jetway that same year.

South American heroin also is smuggled to Florida aboard maritime vessels. Couriers--either crew members or passengers--aboard cruise ships occasionally conceal heroin on their bodies or in their luggage. USCS officials in Florida seized almost 25 kilograms of heroin from maritime vessels in 2001. Most of the heroin was seized in November 2001 by USCS officials at Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale). In that incident USCS officials arrested four couriers who were traveling on a cruise ship with a total of 47 pounds (21.4 kg) of heroin strapped to their bodies and concealed in the soles of their shoes. The ship had port calls in Colombia, Panama, the Cayman Islands, and Mexico. Federal law enforcement officials report that heroin sometimes is transported to Florida on fishing vessels or in containerized cargo vessels, occasionally intermingled with cocaine shipments.

Mexican and Dominican criminal groups sometimes transport heroin into Florida using overland conveyances. Mexican criminal groups sometimes transport South American heroin from southwestern states to Florida in private vehicles. According to DEA, Dominican criminal groups occasionally transport South American heroin from New York City to Florida, primarily Orlando, in private vehicles. Law enforcement officials seized 1 kilogram of heroin from commercial and private vehicles as part of Operation Pipeline in 2001.

Mexican criminal groups are the primary transporters of Mexican black tar and brown powdered heroin into Florida. They usually smuggle Mexican heroin from Mexico into Florida using package delivery services and private vehicles.

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Distribution

Miami and to a lesser extent Orlando are primary distribution centers for South American heroin destined for Florida and other states east of the Mississippi River. According to DEA, Miami is a supply area for South American heroin in New York City, also a primary heroin distribution center. State and local law enforcement officials in at least four other states--Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, and Ohio--responding to the NDTS 2002 report that Miami is a supply area for heroin available in their jurisdictions.

Colombian criminal groups control the wholesale distribution of South American heroin in Florida. These criminal groups store multikilogram quantities of South American heroin in stash houses, primarily in southern Florida, and supply other criminal groups and gangs in and outside the state. Puerto Rican and Dominican criminal groups and, to a lesser extent, gangs such as Gangster Disciples, Latin Kings, and Vice Lords also distribute wholesale quantities of South American heroin in Florida. Wholesale quantities of Mexican black tar or brown powdered heroin rarely are available in Florida.

Various criminal groups, gangs, and local independent dealers sell retail quantities of heroin in Florida. Puerto Rican and Dominican criminal groups; gangs such as Gangster Disciples, Latin Kings, and Vice Lords; and various local independent dealers are the primary retail distributors of South American heroin in Florida. Mexican and Puerto Rican criminal groups, Hispanic and African American gangs, and local independent dealers distribute retail quantities of Mexican black tar and brown powdered heroin in Florida.

Retail quantities of heroin usually are packaged in bindles (approximately one-tenth gram folded in tinfoil) and sold at open-air drug markets, from parked vehicles and residences, and in nightclubs, bars, and other clubs. Retail distributors also sell heroin to known associates and often arrange meetings with customers using pagers. Heroin also is packaged for retail distribution in glassine bags known as 40s, 50s, or 60s--denoting the cost in dollars of the heroin. These bags generally average about one-quarter gram of heroin.

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