National Drug Intelligence Center   Central Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis 2009   March 2009

Production

Illicit drug production in the Central Florida HIDTA region primarily involves the conversion of powder cocaine to crack, cannabis cultivation, and small-scale powder methamphetamine production. Crack cocaine conversion takes place principally in urban areas of the region. Cannabis cultivation and small-scale methamphetamine production often take place in rural areas in the western portion of the Central Florida HIDTA region.

Retail-level crack cocaine distributors, typically members of local street gangs, convert powder cocaine to crack near intended markets, most of which are located in urban areas of the region. The conversion and distribution of crack are serious concerns to law enforcement officials, since these activities are frequently associated with high levels of abuse and related property crime and violence. Local street gang members generally distribute crack on an as-needed basis, typically in ounce quantities, because federal sentences for distribution or possession of crack are more severe than those for powder cocaine.

High-potency marijuana and commercial-grade marijuana are produced in the Central Florida HIDTA region. Most of the high-potency marijuana available in the region is produced locally at indoor grow sites, and some of the commercial-grade marijuana available in the region is produced at a limited number of outdoor grow sites.9 Caucasian DTOs and criminal groups typically operate the limited number of outdoor grow sites in the region, generally on rural lands. Most of the indoor cannabis grow sites are established and operated by Cuban DTOs and criminal groups; some Caucasian and Vietnamese DTOs and criminal groups also cultivate cannabis indoors.

Indoor cannabis cultivation is prevalent throughout Florida and the Central Florida HIDTA region. According to data from the Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program (DCE/SP) and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), the total number of indoor cannabis plants eradicated in the Central Florida HIDTA region increased from 2007 through 2008. (See Table 2.) FDLE and the Central Florida HIDTA report that marijuana producers continue to move cannabis cultivation operations indoors to avoid law enforcement detection and to increase the quality of the marijuana produced. Most indoor grow operations in the region are very similar in design, featuring controlled environments that take advantage of sophisticated growing techniques, such as hydroponics; these techniques typically yield high-potency marijuana, which commands higher prices.10 For example, in the Central Florida HIDTA region, the wholesale price for commercial-grade marijuana in 2008 ranged from $550 to $650 per pound, while the wholesale price for hydroponic marijuana ranged from $3,000 to $3,500 per pound. Moreover, indoor cannabis operations can be conducted year-round, yielding four to six harvests per year, compared with the two harvests per year that are typical for outdoor cultivation.

Source: Florida Department of Law Enforcement; Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program.

Many of the indoor grow sites in the Central Florida HIDTA region are located in residences, such as rental houses and apartments, in suburban and rural communities between Orlando and Tampa. Further, the depressed housing market throughout Florida has resulted in increased home foreclosures, a circumstance that provides opportunities for DTOs to acquire bargain-priced properties that can be used to expand their indoor cannabis grow operations in the region. Rental houses or apartments are used as short-term cannabis grow sites. The DTOs and criminal groups, primarily Cuban DTOs, that establish these indoor grow sites often require the illegal immigrants of various races/ethnicities who cultivate the plants to live at the sites; this arrangement provides the appearance of typical residential activity at the sites and is accepted by the DTOs as reimbursement for the illegal passage of these individuals into the United States. In response to the increasing number of residences used for indoor cannabis cultivation, the state legislature passed Florida HB 0173 into law on June 17, 2008.11

Cuban DTOs that operate high-potency indoor cannabis grow sites in the Central Florida HIDTA region began their operations in southern Florida and later expanded northward throughout the state. These DTOs have further expanded their operations into other areas of the southeastern United States, such as Georgia and North Carolina. Law enforcement reporting and seizure data indicate that Cuban DTOs are now the principal producers of high-potency marijuana at indoor grow sites in the southeastern United States. Moreover, intelligence derived from recent law enforcement investigations reveals that cannabis cultivation by Cuban growers has advanced from the operation of a limited number of grows by independent Cuban groups for a relatively small profit, to a coordinated effort by these groups to operate large-scale indoor cannabis grow sites.

Caucasian independent producers operate a limited number of small-scale powder methamphetamine laboratories in the Central Florida HIDTA region. According to National Seizure System (NSS) data, the number of methamphetamine laboratories seized in Central Florida HIDTA counties decreased overall from 2004 through 2008. (See Table 3.) The Central Florida HIDTA reports that local methamphetamine producers in the adjacent counties of Pasco, Manatee, Lake, and Brevard impact the HIDTA region. Moreover, most of the methamphetamine laboratories seized had been using the anhydrous ammonia method (commonly referred to as the Birch or Nazi method) of production. Less than 2 ounces of methamphetamine could be produced in these laboratories per production cycle. The Volusia County Sheriff's Office reports that methamphetamine production in the county is limited because of legislative controls, implemented in 2006, that restrict precursor chemical sales.

Source: National Seizure System, data run on February 18, 2009.

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Transportation

DTOs use various methods and means of conveyance to transport illicit drugs into, through, and from the Central Florida HIDTA region. These traffickers frequently transport wholesale quantities of illicit drugs to the Central Florida HIDTA region for local distribution; some of these drugs are further transported to other drug markets in northern and southern Florida as well as to drug markets on the East Coast. Illicit drugs are transported into the region from other areas of Florida as well as Arizona, California, Georgia, Puerto Rico, and Texas. They are also transported from countries such as Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru.

The Central Florida HIDTA region's highly developed transportation infrastructure is routinely exploited by drug traffickers to transport cocaine, SA heroin, Mexican heroin, Mexican marijuana, and ice methamphetamine into the region from locations along the Southwest Border. The most common method of transportation is the use of private and commercial vehicles on Interstates 4, 75, 95, and 275. Traffickers primarily use independently owned commercial trucks and private or rental vehicles to transport multihundred-kilogram quantities of powder cocaine and marijuana, which they commingle in shipments of legitimate goods or conceal in hidden compartments. These DTOs sometimes transport illicit drug proceeds back to the Southwest Border area using the same conveyances and routes.

Traffickers of various races/ethnicities transport illicit drugs into the Central Florida HIDTA region. Mexican DTOs and Hispanic criminal groups transport wholesale quantities of cocaine, Mexican heroin, Mexican marijuana, and ice methamphetamine from the Southwest Border area. Asian DTOs operating in the region typically use private vehicles and package delivery services to transport drugs (principally high-potency marijuana) from Canada, states near the U.S.-Canada border, and sometimes California to central Florida for distribution. Colombian and Puerto Rican DTOs and criminal groups transport cocaine and SA heroin from southern Florida, the Caribbean, and South America into and through the region. Jamaican DTOs and criminal groups transport wholesale quantities of cocaine and marijuana from southern Florida and the Puerto Rico/USVI HIDTA region into central Florida. African American criminal groups transport powder and crack cocaine and marijuana into the region.

Traffickers transport illicit drugs into the Central Florida HIDTA region using the U.S. Postal Service and package delivery services; they also use couriers to transport some drugs on commercial flights and maritime conveyances. Drug traffickers and some abusers frequently transport illicit drugs such as marijuana, methamphetamine, and CPDs through package delivery services. Moreover, the Orlando International Airport12 and the Port of Tampa13 provide drug traffickers with additional opportunities to transport illicit drugs from Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico, and South America into the region.

Footnotes

9. According to Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program (DCE/SP) data, 947 cannabis plants were eradicated from 39 outdoor grow sites in the Central Florida HIDTA region in 2008.
10. According to the University of Mississippi Potency Monitoring Project, the average THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) content of marijuana samples submitted to federal, state, and local law enforcement officials in the Central Florida HIDTA as of September 30, 2008 (the latest date for which such data are available) was 7.5 percent.
11. Florida House Bill 0173 prohibits the cultivation of cannabis for specified purposes and prohibits owning, leasing, or possessing a place, structure, or trailer, or other described place with the knowledge that it will be used to manufacture, sell, or traffic in a controlled substance. The bill also provides that possession of 25 or more cannabis plants is prima facie evidence of intent to sell or distribute.
12. Orlando International Airport is the largest airport in Florida, the thirteenth-largest airport in the United States and the twenty-third-largest airport in the world, ranked by the number of passengers during 2006 (the latest year for which such data are available), according to Airports Council International. During 2006, Orlando International Airport was the eighth-fastest-growing major airport in the United States and the twentieth-fastest-growing major airport in the world in a ranking of the 30 airports with the highest traffic volume. Orlando International Airport is the fourth-largest origin and destination market in the United States; it provided scheduled nonstop service to 84 destinations in the United States and 16 international cities. Orlando International Airport recorded approximately 35.8 million passengers for the fiscal year (FY) that ended September 30, 2007, an increase of 3.1 percent from the previous year.
13. The Port of Tampa is an international trade seaport in west central Florida, the largest deepwater seaport in Florida, and the closest full-service seaport to the Panama Canal. In FY2007 (the latest year for which such data are available), the seaport's public marine terminals handled a total of 50 million tons of bulk and general cargo. The Port of Tampa offers maritime repair facilities, fisheries, and nontraditional and traditional retail and entertainment uses; it is also a major cruise ship terminal.

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