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National Drug Intelligence Center |
Illicit drug production in the Nevada HIDTA region is typically limited to small-scale methamphetamine production, indoor and outdoor cannabis cultivation, and crack conversion. Local production of powder methamphetamine has declined significantly as a result of restrictions the Nevada legislature placed on retail pseudoephedrine sales in 2001. The Nevada legislature also implemented enhanced penalties for manufacturing methamphetamine under certain circumstances, further curtailing methamphetamine production in the region.3 Local methamphetamine laboratory seizures decreased 95 percent over the past 7 years from a high of 81 laboratories seized statewide in 2002 to only 4 laboratories seized in 2008. (See Table 2.) Most laboratories in the region are small and capable of producing less than an ounce of the drug per production cycle--enough for personal use or limited retail-level distribution.
Table 2. Methamphetamine Laboratories Seized in Clark County, Washoe County, and State of Nevada, 2002-2008
| Year | Clark County | Washoe County | State of Nevada |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 69 | 10 | 81 |
| 2003 | 67 | 6 | 76 |
| 2004 | 42 | 9 | 51 |
| 2005 | 24 | 2 | 29 |
| 2006 | 16 | 1 | 20 |
| 2007 | 7 | 1 | 8 |
| 2008 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
Source: National Seizure System, as of February 19, 2009.
Marijuana is the most widely abused drug in the region, and demand for high-potency marijuana is increasing. To meet demand, traffickers in the region are increasingly establishing indoor cannabis cultivation operations--Nevada's arid climate and poor soil conditions are not conducive to outdoor cultivation. Most indoor cultivation sites employ sophisticated hydroponic growing techniques necessary for high-potency marijuana production. Caucasian criminal groups, independent dealers, and Asian DTOs are the predominant cannabis cultivators in the region; they generally manage grow sites independently; however, Asian DTOs often operate several sites simultaneously, working in coordination with associates in other cities within and outside the region. In 2008, 89 indoor grow sites were seized--a 394 percent increase from the 18 indoor grow sites seized in 2005. Moreover, the number of indoor cannabis plants eradicated by officials increased from 1,059 plants in 2005 to 6,826 plants in 2008, according to data from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program (DCE/SP). (See Figure 2.) Some cannabis plants are cultivated legally in the region under Nevada's medical marijuana law, which allows for limited, personal-use marijuana production. Individuals registered with the state may cultivate up to three mature and four immature plants at one time for medicinal purposes. Reno Police Department officials report that some cannabis cultivators exploit these medical marijuana laws to conduct illegal grow operations that exceed cultivation and possession limits.
Figure 2. Indoor Cannabis Plants Eradicated in Nevada, 2005-2008
Source: Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program.
Outdoor cannabis cultivation is limited because of the arid climate in the region; however, Mexican DTOs are expanding their use of rural and public lands in Nevada outside the HIDTA region to support outdoor cultivation, particularly in Esmeralda and Humboldt Counties. In August 2008, law enforcement officials seized 3,000 cannabis plants at a remote outdoor grow located near the Nevada-California state line, midway between Reno and Las Vegas. Mexican traffickers who tended the site irrigated the plants by diverting water from a nearby stream. Less than a month later, officials conducting aerial surveillance discovered an additional 12,700 cannabis plants at a separate Esmeralda County outdoor grow site in a remote area of the White Mountains, and in October 2008, an 800-plant outdoor grow was seized near the Little Humboldt River in Humboldt County. (See Figure 3.)
Figure 3. Outdoor Cannabis Cultivation Grows Seized in Esmeralda and Humboldt Counties, 2008
Source: Bureau of Land Management; Nevada Department of Public Safety.
African American street gangs and, to a lesser extent, Hispanic street gangs convert most of the crack cocaine available in the region from powder cocaine, which they typically acquire from Mexican DTOs and criminal groups. They generally produce crack cocaine at or near distribution sites in urban areas such as Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, and Reno.
The Nevada HIDTA region, particularly Las Vegas, is a regional and national-level transshipment area for Mexican DTOs that transport wholesale quantities of ice methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana. Mexican DTOs also use the region as a transshipment center for methamphetamine and Mexican black tar heroin and brown powder heroin. Illicit drugs destined for markets outside the region are often stored by traffickers at stash locations in the area before being transshipped to drug markets throughout the country, including markets in southwestern, midwestern, and eastern states and in Hawaii.
Mexican traffickers transport most illicit drugs available in the Nevada HIDTA region from Mexico, southern California, and Arizona into the area in privately owned and commercial vehicles traveling on Interstates 15 and 80 as well as U.S. Highways 93, 95, and 395. Traffickers also use commercial aircraft, buses, and railroads to transport drugs to the region. Additionally, distributors and abusers who acquire ODDs and CPDs over the Internet typically receive them by package delivery services and U.S. mail.
Many Mexican traffickers use vehicles modified with hidden storage compartments capable of concealing multipound shipments of drugs or bulk cash. These compartments generally have electronic or magnetic switches that require several steps to open. They are usually welded into body frames, gas tanks, and passenger areas. For example, Nevada law enforcement officials report that in 2008, members of a Mexican DTO installed a lead-lined compartment in a recreational vehicle to avoid detection by X-ray screening equipment. They paid a Nevada couple to transport drugs and money in the vehicle to and from Mexico, the United States, and Canada. Additionally, trafficking vehicles may have global positioning system (GPS) devices hard-wired into them to enable DTO leaders to track shipments and observe deviations from prescribed routes as a result of law enforcement intervention. The drivers of these vehicles are frequently illegal immigrants who are hired to drive from one location to another without knowledge of the contraband that is in the vehicle or specific knowledge of the DTO. Additionally, the drivers usually hold fraudulent identification.
Asian criminal groups, particularly Vietnamese and Chinese, and some outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMGs) transport high-potency marijuana and MDMA from Canada, California, and the Pacific Northwest to the Nevada HIDTA region in privately owned vehicles, rental cars and, to a lesser extent, commercial aircraft, buses, and trains. They also use package delivery services and the U.S. mail to ship illicit drugs into the region.
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