National Drug Intelligence Center   California Border Alliance Group Drug Market Analysis 2009   March 2009

Production

Mexican DTOs dominate the production of marijuana in the CBAG region; they typically establish large-scale outdoor cannabis grow sites on public lands and private ranches throughout the area. The number of plants eradicated from outdoor grow sites in San Diego County decreased 2 percent from 2007 to 2008. (See Table 2.) This small decline can be attributed to extensive soil damage caused by the October 2007 forest fires at major marijuana production sites in the region. Conversely, indoor cannabis cultivation increased in San Diego County over the past year; the number of plants eradicated from indoor grow sites in San Diego County increased 27 percent from 2007 to 2008. (See Table 2.) Caucasian and, to a lesser extent, Asian independent growers run small-scale cultivation operations in commercial buildings and private residences, typically located in suburban neighborhoods. Many cultivators, particularly Caucasian growers, have relocated or established their operations indoors because they perceive a reduced risk of law enforcement detection in comparison with outdoor grows, which are increasingly being targeted by vigorous outdoor cannabis eradication operations. Indoor cannabis cultivators are also able to generate higher profit margins, since controlled growing conditions generally yield higher-potency marijuana.

Table 2. Cannabis Plants Seized in San Diego County, 2004-2008

Source: San Diego Law Enforcement Coordination Center, December 2008.

Mexican DTOs have historically controlled many of California's superlabs and major methamphetamine production facilities; however, in recent years they have transferred most large-scale methamphetamine production operations to Mexico. As such, most ice methamphetamine available in the CBAG region is produced in Mexico. Domestic methamphetamine production decreased significantly from 2004 through 2008, as evidenced by sharply declining laboratory seizures. (See Table 3.) The decrease in domestic laboratory activity can be attributed to regulatory efforts to control precursor chemical diversion, the influx of Mexican methamphetamine, and law enforcement efforts in the United States and Mexico. Methamphetamine that is produced locally is generally manufactured in small-scale laboratories and is intended for personal use or limited distribution. Ice conversion laboratories--in which powder methamphetamine is converted to ice--reportedly exist in the area, but to a limited extent.

Table 3. Methamphetamine Laboratory Seizures in San Diego and Imperial Counties, 2004-2008

Source: National Seizure System data as of January 14, 2009.

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Transportation

The CBAG region is a primary smuggling corridor through which Mexican DTOs transport large quantities of methamphetamine, marijuana, cocaine, and heroin to wholesale markets within the CBAG region and throughout the United States. Most illicit drugs available in the CBAG region are transported from Mexico by traffickers in private and commercial vehicles through POEs along the California-Mexico border. Drug smuggling between POEs is also prevalent. The vast border area presents innumerable remote crossing points that traffickers exploit to smuggle illicit drugs, primarily marijuana, into the country from Mexico. These areas are easily breached by traffickers on foot, in private vehicles, or in all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) as they smuggle drugs between POEs, particularly the mountainous areas in eastern San Diego County and the desert and sand dune areas in Imperial County. Once in the CBAG region, traffickers use State Routes 86 and 111, which originate in Imperial County and connect to Interstate 10, a highway that spans from California to Florida. Additionally, traffickers use Interstates 5, 8, 15, and 805 to transport illicit drugs throughout and beyond the region.

Mexican DTOs use subterranean tunnels to smuggle illicit drugs into the United States; several new tunnels at the U.S-Mexico border have recently been discovered by law enforcement officials. Approximately 36 tunnels have been discovered along the California-Mexico border since 1993--22 have been discovered in the past 3 years alone. (See Table 4.) Use of tunnels is mostly limited to large-scale Mexican DTOs that have the resources and influence needed to organize, fund, and construct these tunnels.

Table 4. Tunnels Discovered in the CBAG Region, 2004-2008

Source: Border Patrol Field Intelligence Center.

Mexican DTOs also use maritime conveyances such as commercial and private watercraft to smuggle drugs, primarily marijuana, into the CBAG region. According to the San Diego Air and Marine Task Force,4 Mexican DTOs load illicit drugs onto go-fast boats and rendezvous with smaller, less conspicuous fishing vessels in international waters to transfer the drugs. The fishing vessels then enter U.S. waters with the drugs hidden on board, destined for marinas along California's West Coast. Additionally, independent smugglers use small boats to transport marijuana; occasionally they transport illegal aliens along with the marijuana. Boats transporting illegal aliens are usually poorly maintained vessels ranging from 18 to 27 feet in length; these boats are typically beached and abandoned after reaching the U.S. shoreline.

Mexican DTOs employ commercial and private aircraft as well as rail services to transport illicit drugs into and from the CBAG region. Drug traffickers transport drug shipments as air freight through the San Diego International Airport and the McClellan-Palomar Airport in Carlsbad, California, or by courier aboard passenger flights. Low-flying private aircraft use numerous privately owned "soft-surface" runways in San Diego and Imperial Counties in an attempt to avoid radar detection while smuggling drugs into the region. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations Center (AMOC)5 reported several recent incidents in California in which ultralight aircraft6 flew across the U.S.-Mexico border, particularly in the sand dune area of East Imperial County. For example, in January 2009, personnel working at the Andrade POE saw an ultralight cross the border, travel north for 100 yards, and circle the POE four times before returning to Mexico. Ultralights are ideal for trafficking drugs across the border, since they are difficult to detect using radar. Their frames are typically made of aircraft-grade aluminum tubes that do not contain enough metal for radar detection.

Additionally, law enforcement reporting reveals that Mexican DTOs use commercial and passenger rail service to transport and distribute drugs to the CBAG region and throughout the United States. Mexican DTOs conceal illegal drugs in rail cars that originate from the interior of Mexico. The rail cars are stopped for inspection in Calexico, California, as they cross into the United States from Mexicali, Mexico, but inspectors generally do not have sufficient time to conduct more than a cursory inspection before the rails cars must depart the inspection area. Once the rail cars clear the inspection area, they typically sit for a few hours at the Calexico rail yard before proceeding to subsequent destinations. At this point, illicit drugs are generally offloaded by traffickers--spotters relay the location of drug-laden rail cars to other traffickers, who approach the rail cars and abscond with the drugs.

Footnotes

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