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

Strategic Drug Threat Developments

• Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) and associated Hispanic criminal groups are the dominant transporters of cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine in the North Florida HIDTA region. These DTOs and criminal groups have gained control over much of the drug distribution in the region and in the entire state of Florida as a result of their access to sources of supply and their well-established drug smuggling routes from Mexico into the United States.
   
• Sporadic shortages of powder cocaine and slightly higher prices at the midlevel and retail level were reported by several law enforcement agencies in the North Florida HIDTA region during the second half of 2008. Cocaine usually is readily available throughout the region because of its proximity to reliable international sources of supply. However, large cocaine seizures in drug transit areas near the Southwest Border and in the Caribbean have resulted in sporadic cocaine shortages in the North Florida HIDTA region.
   
• The diversion, distribution, and abuse of controlled prescription drugs (CPDs) such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, and diazepam are significant threats to the North Florida HIDTA region.

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HIDTA Overview

The North Florida HIDTA region encompasses Alachua, Baker, Clay, Columbia, Duval, Flagler, Marion, Nassau, Putnam, and St. Johns Counties. (See Figure 1.) The North Florida HIDTA region, particularly Jacksonville, is a significant transshipment area for illegal drugs transported north from Miami, Florida, to East Coast drug markets such as Boston, Massachusetts; New York, New York; and Savannah, Georgia, and for drugs transported south from Atlanta, Georgia, to drug markets throughout Florida. Jacksonville, which has the largest population of any city in Florida,1 is the primary drug market in the North Florida HIDTA region. As such, drug trafficking activities in the Jacksonville area have a considerable influence on drug markets in the entire region.

The North Florida HIDTA region has a large and increasing population that is racially/ethnically diverse.2 The Hispanic population in the region, which is the fastest-growing segment, increased 74 percent from 78,901 in 2000 to an estimated 137,081 in 2007. (See Figure 2.) Many foreign nationals and/or immigrants have relocated to the region from drug source or transit areas such as Mexico, South America, and the Caribbean, allowing drug traffickers to blend into local communities and conceal their illegal activities.

Figure 2. Estimated Hispanic Population Increase in North Florida HIDTA Counties, 2000-2007

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The North Florida HIDTA region has a highly developed transportation system, including major roadways such as Interstates 10, 75, and 95, which link it to drug distribution centers in Atlanta and Miami and to major eastern U.S. drug markets. (See Figure 3.) Moreover, Jacksonville is one of the principal ports of entry (POEs) for travelers, mail, and cargo into the continental United States; millions of tons of commercial truck and maritime freight and parcels as well as high volumes of commercial and passenger vehicles transit the HIDTA region daily. A large international airport, numerous international parcel transshipment hubs, and a large commercial seaport facilitate high levels of legitimate commerce and drug trafficking activity.

Figure 3. North Florida HIDTA Transportation Infrastructure

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Footnotes

1. According to U.S. Census Bureau data, the estimated population of Jacksonville, Florida, was 805,605 in 2007 (the latest year for which such data are available); the city of Miami, Florida, had the second-highest estimated population--409,719--in 2007. Census data further indicate that in 2007 the estimated population of Duval County (Jacksonville), Florida, was 849,159, while the estimated population of Miami-Dade County (Miami), Florida, was 2,387,170.
2. According to U.S. Census Bureau data from 2007 (the latest year for which such estimated data are available), Caucasians account for 74 percent of the North Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) region's population, followed by African Americans (20%), Hispanics (6%), Asians (2%), and other races (1%). 

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