National Drug Intelligence Center   Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis 2009   March 2009

Drug Threat Overview

The distribution and abuse of crack cocaine and heroin pose the greatest drug threats to the W/B HIDTA region. In most areas of the region, crack cocaine poses the greatest drug threat; however, in the city of Baltimore, the abuse of heroin (primarily South American (SA) heroin) is the principal drug threat. For example, the Baltimore Medical Examiner's Office reports that in 2008, heroin was the substance most commonly found in intoxication deaths in the city. High levels of violent and property crime associated with crack cocaine and heroin trafficking severely tax law enforcement resources in the HIDTA region. The social and health consequences of cocaine and heroin abuse also strain social services and public health resources in the HIDTA region. Furthermore, the abuse of heroin, particularly by injection, leads to multiple health risks, including the transmission of infectious diseases such as HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and hepatitis.

Other illicit drugs are also trafficked and abused to varying degrees throughout the HIDTA region. (See Table 1.) Marijuana is the most widely available and abused drug in the region. Mexico continues to be the primary source area for commercial-grade marijuana transported to the area; Canada is a source of high-potency marijuana. Mexican traffickers residing either locally or in southwestern states are responsible for much of the transportation of marijuana to, and distribution within, the HIDTA region, while Jamaican groups obtain marijuana from Florida and the Caribbean. High profits and the perception of low risk associated with marijuana distribution are fueling an expansion of marijuana trafficking operations in the region. Methamphetamine is readily available in rural areas adjacent to the region, including southwestern Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley, and abuse of the drug is spreading to suburban areas in the HIDTA region. Ice methamphetamine is readily available in the Washington, D.C., homosexual community and is available in limited quantities in northern Virginia and in Maryland suburbs.

Source: Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, February 23, 2009.
*Figures may not sum to totals shown because of rounding.

Other dangerous drugs (ODDs) such as MDMA and PCP (phencyclidine) as well as CPDs, particularly controlled prescription narcotics such as oxycodone and methadone, are increasingly available and are abused by young, affluent suburbanites in the W/B HIDTA region. Reporting from treatment providers indicates that controlled prescription narcotics provide an alternative to heroin for abusers who view heroin use as too risky or costly. MDMA is readily available throughout the HIDTA region, where abusers often combine the drug with other substances, such as alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, or OxyContin (oxycodone), to heighten their experience. PCP abuse, rare in most areas of the country, is common in Washington, D.C., especially in the eastern half of the city. In fact, the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Narcotics Unit reports increased PCP sales and abuse in the Clay Terrace public housing complex in the northeastern part of the city. PCP is often sold as "dippers," which are cigarettes dipped in liquid PCP.

To Top      To Contents

Drug Trafficking Organizations

Colombian and Dominican DTOs are the primary wholesale distributors of cocaine and SA heroin in the W/B HIDTA region. Most Colombian DTOs operating in the region are cells of larger Colombian organizations based in New York, New York. The larger Colombian DTOs in New York City typically supply the Colombian cocaine distributors operating in the W/B HIDTA area. The New York-based and locally based Colombian DTOs supply wholesale quantities of cocaine and heroin to midlevel distribution groups, primarily Dominican DTOs, which control much of the midlevel cocaine and heroin distribution in the HIDTA region. Some Dominican DTOs operating in the W/B HIDTA area are supplied by New York City-based Dominican DTOs, and some obtain cocaine directly from Mexican sources at the Southwest Border in order to lower purchase costs and increase profit margins. Dominican DTOs have also begun to obtain cocaine from sources in the Caribbean, including criminal groups operating in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Dominican DTOs supply African American, Caucasian, Jamaican, and Puerto Rican midlevel and retail-level distribution groups throughout the area.

Mexican DTOs are increasingly becoming involved in cocaine and SA heroin transportation and lower-level distribution in the W/B HIDTA region. Mexican DTOs and criminal groups based in the southern or western United States transport and distribute most of the marijuana available in the region. They also transport significant quantities of cocaine and heroin for Colombian and Dominican DTOs, and limited quantities of methamphetamine, including high-purity ice methamphetamine, to the HIDTA region. An increasing number of Mexican traffickers are transporting large quantities of methamphetamine into Virginia--particularly the Shenandoah Valley, adjacent to the HIDTA region. Mexican DTOs transport these drugs from Mexico, Southwest Border states and, increasingly, Atlanta, Georgia. They supply most of the drugs that they transport to the area to midlevel and retail-level distribution groups of various races and ethnicities, including African American, Asian, Dominican, Jamaican, and Puerto Rican DTOs and street gangs. They also supply illicit drugs to imprisoned gang members and outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMGs).

Other DTOs and criminal groups also distribute illicit drugs at the wholesale level in the HIDTA region. Jamaican criminal groups supply commercial-grade marijuana from Florida and the Caribbean, while Vietnamese criminal groups are the principal suppliers of high-potency marijuana (both Canada-produced and locally produced) and MDMA from Canada. Middle Eastern, Pakistani, and West African DTOs distribute Southwest Asian (SWA) heroin, primarily in Baltimore. Law enforcement reports indicate that Central American DTOs and criminal groups, including Guatemalans and Salvadorans, are increasing their involvement in cocaine and heroin trafficking in the HIDTA region.

Neighborhood-based street gangs, or local "crews," are the principal retail illicit drug distributors in the W/B HIDTA region, particularly for crack cocaine and heroin. Law enforcement sources in Washington, D.C., report that African American street-level dealers are now distributing MDMA in addition to powder and crack cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and PCP at open-air drug markets. Gang activity remains a principal public safety concern in some areas of the region, primarily because of drug-related gang violence.

National-level street gangs also conduct drug distribution operations in the HIDTA region. Hispanic gangs, including 18th Street and Latin Kings, are particularly problematic in northern Virginia and the Maryland suburbs surrounding Washington, D.C. African American Bloods and Crips sets also distribute drugs and engage in other criminal activities in the region. Baltimore County Police Department gang investigators reported in 2008 that Bloods street gang members had made several attempts to infiltrate the public safety sector by applying for positions within the Department of Corrections. Bloods sets, such as Tree Top Piru and 9-Tre Gangsters, are active in Salisbury, Maryland. Black Dragons, an Asian street gang based in Monterey, California, distributes MDMA and marijuana in Virginia and Washington, D.C.

End of page.