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

Production

Illicit drug production in the North Florida HIDTA region primarily involves the conversion of powder cocaine to crack, indoor 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 of the North Florida HIDTA region; some cannabis cultivators have begun to move their sites to suburban neighborhoods in the region.

Retail-level crack cocaine distributors, frequently 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 because 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.

Much of the marijuana available in the North Florida HIDTA region is produced locally at indoor and, to a lesser extent, outdoor cannabis grow sites; some marijuana available in the region is produced in Canada and Mexico.9 Indoor cannabis cultivation is prevalent throughout Florida and the North Florida HIDTA region. According to cannabis eradication data, the total number of indoor cannabis plants eradicated in the North Florida HIDTA region increased overall from 2005 through 2007 and then decreased 28 percent from 2007 through 2008.10 (See Table 2.) The Florida Department of Law Enforcement reports that marijuana producers have moved many cannabis cultivation operations indoors to avoid law enforcement detection and to increase the quality of the marijuana produced. The controlled environment, combined with sophisticated growing techniques such as hydroponics, typically yields high-potency marijuana, which commands higher prices.11 For example, in Jacksonville the wholesale price for commercial-grade marijuana ranged from $600 to $800 per pound in 2008, while the wholesale price for hydroponic marijuana ranged from $3,500 to $5,000 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.
*Columbia and St. Johns Counties did not participate in Florida's Domestic Marijuana Eradication Indoor Grow Program in 2006.

Many of the indoor cannabis grow sites in the North Florida HIDTA region are established and operated by Cuban DTOs and criminal groups; some Caucasian DTOs and criminal groups also cultivate cannabis indoors in the region. For several years Cuban growers cultivated high-potency cannabis at indoor grow sites in southern Florida. Cuban growers have expanded their indoor cannabis grow operations to other parts of Florida as well as other areas of the southeastern United States, such as Georgia and North Carolina. Law enforcement reporting and seizure data indicate that Cuban DTOs are the principal producers of indoor cannabis 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.

Many of the indoor grow sites in the North Florida HIDTA region are located in residences, such as rental houses and apartments, in suburban and rural communities in the region. 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. The DTOs and criminal groups (primarily Cuban) that establish these indoor grow sites often require illegal immigrants of various races/ethnicities who cultivate the plants to live at the sites; this arrangement provides the appearance of typical residential activity and is accepted by the DTOs as reimbursement for the illegal passage of these individuals into the United States. As a result of the increasing number of residences used for indoor cannabis cultivation, the state legislature passed Florida HB 0173 into law on June 17, 2008.12

Caucasian independent producers operate a limited number of small-scale powder methamphetamine laboratories in the North Florida HIDTA region. According to National Seizure System (NSS) data, the number of methamphetamine laboratories seized in North Florida HIDTA counties increased overall from 2004 through 2007 and then decreased from 2007 through 2008. All of the methamphetamine laboratories seized in the region during 2008 were discovered in Marion County. (See Table 3.) In addition, the North Florida HIDTA reports that 23 methamphetamine laboratories were dismantled in 2008; 20 of the 23 laboratories were located in Marion County. Moreover, most of the methamphetamine laboratories that were seized used the anhydrous ammonia method (commonly referred to as the Birch or Nazi method) of production. Less than 2 ounces of methamphetamine can be produced in these laboratories per production cycle.

Source: National Seizure System, data run on March 4, 2009.

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Transportation

DTOs use various methods and means of conveyance to transport illicit drugs into, through, and from the North Florida HIDTA region. These traffickers frequently transport wholesale quantities of illicit drugs to the North Florida HIDTA region for local distribution; some of these drugs are further transported to other drug markets in central and southern Florida as well as to drug markets on the East Coast.

The North Florida HIDTA region's highly developed transportation infrastructure is routinely exploited by drug traffickers to transport wholesale quantities of cocaine, heroin, Mexican marijuana, and methamphetamine into the region from Atlanta and locations along the Southwest Border area. The most common method of transportation is the use of private and commercial vehicles on Interstates 10, 75, and 95. Traffickers often 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. Moreover, some traffickers are attempting to avoid law enforcement interdiction efforts along major interstates in the region by using more indirect routes, such as state roads, to transport drugs into and through the HIDTA region. Traffickers also 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 North Florida HIDTA region. Mexican, Colombian, Cuban, Dominican, Hispanic, and Jamaican DTOs and criminal groups and African American and Caucasian criminal groups transport wholesale quantities of illicit drugs into the North Florida HIDTA region. Mexican DTOs and Hispanic criminal groups transport wholesale quantities of cocaine, heroin, Mexican marijuana, and methamphetamine from the Southwest Border and Atlanta into northern Florida. Colombian and Dominican DTOs and criminal groups transport wholesale quantities of cocaine from South Florida into the North Florida HIDTA region; Dominican DTOs also transport cocaine directly from the Dominican Republic. Cuban DTOs transport indoor-grown marijuana from the region to distributors in the New York/New Jersey HIDTA region. Jamaican DTOs and criminal groups transport wholesale quantities of cocaine and marijuana into northern Florida from southern Florida and the Puerto Rico/USVI HIDTA region. African American criminal groups transport primarily powder cocaine, crack cocaine, and marijuana into the region. Caucasian criminal groups transport primarily CPDs and ODDs into the region from source areas throughout the United States as well as Canada.

Traffickers transport illicit drugs into the North Florida HIDTA region using the U.S. Postal Service and package delivery services; they also use couriers to transport 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. In fact, several transshipment facilities and international parcel shipping companies are located in the Jacksonville area. Moreover, the Jacksonville International Airport13 and the Port of Jacksonville14 provide drug traffickers with additional opportunities to transport illicit drugs into and from northern Florida.

Footnotes

9. According to Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program (DCE/SP) data, 983 cultivated plants were eradicated from 78 outdoor plots in the North Florida HIDTA region in 2008.
10. North Florida HIDTA officials report that fluctuations in the number of cannabis plants eradicated each year are frequently the result of available eradication resources and are not necessarily indicative of a change in the amount of cannabis cultivated in the region.
11. According to the University of Mississippi Potency Monitoring Project, the THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) quantifications of marijuana samples submitted by federal, state, and local law enforcement officials in the North Florida HIDTA as of September 30, 2008, (the latest date for which such data are available) indicate that marijuana produced in the region had an average THC content of 11.5 percent.
12. Florida House Bill (HB) 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; and provides that possession of 25 or more cannabis plants is prima facie evidence of intent to sell or distribute.
13. The Jacksonville International Airport provides nonstop flights to major U.S. cities, including those that serve as international gateways. More than a dozen major airlines and a network of regional carriers provide some 200 daily arrivals and departures at Jacksonville International Airport. Additionally, Jacksonville's passenger air service market has grown dramatically throughout the past decade. As of November 2008, approximately 6 million passengers traveled through the Jacksonville International Airport. The extent of drug-related transportation through the Jacksonville International Airport is an intelligence gap.
14. The Port of Jacksonville is an international trade seaport in northeastern Florida and one of the largest seaports on the eastern seaboard of the continental United States. In fiscal year 2008, the seaport's three public marine terminals handled a total of 8.3 million tons of cargo. Moreover, the Port of Jacksonville transships large quantities of U.S. waterborne commerce to and from Puerto Rico; Puerto Rico is a significant U.S. arrival zone for cocaine. Shipping from Puerto Rico to other parts of the United States, including northern Florida, is considered to be coastwise trade; therefore, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials do not routinely inspect such cargo. Nonetheless, the extent of drug-related transportation through the Port of Jacksonville is an intelligence gap.

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