National Drug Intelligence Center   Lake County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis 2009   February 2009

Strategic Drug Threat Developments

• The national economic downturn is affecting the retail-level illicit drug market in the Lake County HIDTA region. Law enforcement officials report that illicit drug abusers in economically depressed areas of the HIDTA region are increasingly abusing marijuana because it is relatively inexpensive and easy to obtain. Furthermore, some crack cocaine dealers in Hammond are packaging and selling smaller rocks of crack cocaine at a lower price that customers can afford. This marketing technique is most likely a response to weak economic conditions in the area.
   
• Fluctuations in wholesale cocaine availability and prices were reported by law enforcement officials in 2008. Increasing wholesale cocaine prices in the second half of 2008 may indicate decreased wholesale availability. Retail-level cocaine availability and prices remained stable.
   
• Law enforcement officials in the HIDTA region report that the production and availability of and demand for high-potency marijuana are increasing. In 2008 Lake County HIDTA initiatives seized approximately 1,376 cannabis plants from two sophisticated indoor cannabis grows in Schererville and Hammond.
   
• Chicago-based drug trafficking groups are expanding operations into Lake County. Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) and Chicago street gangs have strengthened their transportation and distribution networks in Lake County and other areas of northern Indiana. In 2008 the Lake County Combined Task Force seized a Vietnamese indoor cannabis grow, indicating a possible expansion of Vietnamese marijuana production networks from Chicago to Lake County. 

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HIDTA Overview

The Lake County HIDTA region consists of Lake County, located in northwestern Indiana adjacent to the Chicago metropolitan area, which has a diverse demographic and socioeconomic composition. (See Figure 1.) The northern tier of the county includes the three largest cities--Gary, Hammond, and East Chicago. These cities have relatively high crime rates, significantly low median household incomes, and declining urban environments of abandoned factories and buildings. High levels of drug distribution and abuse take place in the northern tier of the county. Conversely, the southern half of Lake County and neighboring Porter County contain affluent cities and rural communities that have lower crime rates, higher median household incomes, and commercial and residential development. Abusers in southern Lake County and Porter County typically travel to northern cities or to Chicago to purchase cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, also known as ecstasy).

Several major highways (Interstates 65, 80/94, and 90) intersect in Lake County and are frequently used by traffickers to transport illicit drugs into and through the region from Chicago and directly from Mexico through the Southwest Border. Mexican DTOs are the primary transporters of large shipments of cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine from Mexico into and through the region, often en route to drug markets in the Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, and Southeast regions of the United States.

Metropolitan areas in the HIDTA region, particularly Gary, Hammond, and East Chicago, experience high levels of drug distribution and abuse along with gang- and drug-related crime. Costs associated with drug-related criminal activity and drug treatment services are straining limited local law enforcement and healthcare resources. Street gang members, many of whom are associated with gangs in Chicago, control most retail drug distribution in the region and are ultimately responsible for high levels of crime. Lake County gang members also contribute to violent crime in other cities such as Chicago; Detroit, Michigan; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, by supplying firearms to criminal associates in those cities.

A decline in the local economy in 2008 has impacted the illicit retail-level drug market in the Lake County HIDTA region. The unemployment rate in Lake County increased from 5.0 percent in November 2007 to 7.2 percent in November 2008. This increase has resulted in reduced income among many drug users. As a result, law enforcement officials report that the abuse of marijuana has increased because it is relatively inexpensive and easy to obtain. Retail-level crack cocaine dealers also responded to the weak economic situation by packaging and selling smaller rocks of crack cocaine at a lower price that customers can afford. Moreover, the rising unemployment has reduced taxable income leading to local government budget constraints. The budget constraints have led to decreased counterdrug resources, manpower, and overtime for specialized units, including drug units.

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