National Drug Intelligence Center   Oregon High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis 2009   April 2009

Distribution

Mexican DTOs and criminal groups dominate wholesale drug distribution in the Oregon HIDTA region. They supply wholesale quantities of powder cocaine, commercial-grade Mexican marijuana, Mexican black tar heroin, and ice methamphetamine to various distributors, such as other Mexican criminal groups, independent dealers, and street gangs, for midlevel and retail-level distribution.

Asian traffickers, primarily Vietnamese DTOs and criminal groups, are the primary wholesale distributors of Canadian high-potency marijuana and MDMA in the region. These traffickers supply drugs to local Asian criminal groups and street gangs for retail distribution, primarily within the Portland area. Canada-based Vietnamese DTOs and criminal groups also use the region as a key transshipment center for large quantities of Canadian marijuana and MDMA destined for drug markets throughout the United States.

Drug traffickers often employ advanced communication technology and techniques to coordinate their illicit drug trafficking activities in the Oregon HIDTA region. Law enforcement reporting indicates that several Mexican DTOs use Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), satellite technology (broadband satellite instant messaging), encrypted messaging, cell phone technology, two-way radios, scanner devices, and text messaging to communicate with DTO members. In some cases they use high-frequency radios with encryption and rolling codes to communicate during operations.

Retail-level distributors use cell phones to facilitate drug distribution and pagers to negotiate transactions and prearrange meetings with customers in the HIDTA region. Traffickers prefer to conduct business conversations on phones with point-to-point capabilities, believing that these communications are difficult for law enforcement to intercept. Distributors also use text messaging to communicate and arrange meetings. They typically use a cell phone for a limited time before switching to a different phone with a new number to further reduce the possibility of having calls monitored.

Street gangs dominate retail-level drug distribution throughout the Oregon HIDTA region and have a large presence in Portland. (See Figure 3.) African American gangs such as Rolling 60s and Rolling 90s, Hispanic street gangs such as Sureņos 13 gang sets,13 and Asian street gangs such as Asian Boyz Crips control much of the retail-level drug distribution that takes place in Portland. Most drugs are distributed at open-air drug markets in the city, although some distribution is arranged by cell phone. Primary open-air markets in the city include the Transit Mall, Old Town, and various areas near the MAX Light Rail Line. Methamphetamine, heroin, powder cocaine, and marijuana are available at each of these locations; however, crack cocaine availability is generally limited to the Old Town area in the city of Portland. In the Salem area, retail drug distribution occurs in a variety of locations, including private residences, bars, and parking lots. For example, in February 2008, the Salem Police Department arrested five individuals after observing a drug deal in a North Salem parking lot in which a juvenile male delivered methamphetamine to two buyers. Law enforcement officers seized 23 grams of methamphetamine valued at $1,200 and a scale coated with methamphetamine residue. Further investigation at the juvenile's residence revealed 26 ounces of methamphetamine valued at $39,000, 4.5 ounces of cocaine valued at $6,600, and 1 ounce of heroin valued at $2,000. In the Pendleton area of Umatilla County, Hispanic street gangs such as Florencia 13, South Side Angelitos, Tiny Winos, and North Side Hustlaz engage in retail drug distribution. Caucasian criminal groups and OMGs also distribute marijuana at the midlevel and retail level throughout the HIDTA region.

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Drug-Related Crime

A large percentage of the violent crime and property crime that occurs within the region is associated with the trafficking and abuse of drugs, particularly methamphetamine. (See Table 5.) According to data from the NDTS 2009, 24 of the 26 state and local law enforcement agency respondents report that methamphetamine is the drug that most contributes to violent crime in their areas, and 23 respondents report the same for property crime. For example, the Oregon HIDTA reports that methamphetamine addicts in Portland and Salem often commit thefts, such as stealing and selling copper pipes, to fund their drug habit, a situation that may worsen as the overall economic situation in the HIDTA region continues to decline.

*Total respondents: 26.

Street gangs are also responsible for many of the violent crimes perpetrated in the HIDTA region. The Portland Metro Gang Task Force reports that street gangs that distribute drugs at the retail level, such as Rolling 60s, Hoovers, and 18th Street, are involved in most of the assaults, robberies, drive-by shootings, home invasion robberies, and homicides that occur in the Portland area. Portland has the largest gang problem in the Oregon HIDTA region.

Violence associated with cannabis cultivation is an underreported and growing problem in the region. According to the Oregon HIDTA, an increasing number of individuals at outdoor and indoor cannabis cultivation sites are armed in an effort to protect their crops from law enforcement and rival growers. Weapons recovered from outdoor grow sites include assault rifles, shotguns, pistols, and booby traps. Weapons recovered from indoor grows include shotguns and handguns. Because cannabis crop tenders are often armed, these cultivation operations represent a threat to the safety of law enforcement officers and unwitting visitors, hunters, and hikers.

Violent crime is also associated with cannabis cultivated under the OMMP in Oregon and the HIDTA region. The Westside Interagency Narcotics Team (WIN) in Washington County reports armed robberies, serious assaults, child neglect, and weapons offenses connected to OMMP grow sites. For example, with marijuana selling for approximately $3,500 per pound in the HIDTA region, armed robberies are a growing problem at grow sites operated by OMMP-designated caregivers, who sometimes operate large indoor grows to supply multiple patients. Law enforcement officials in the HIDTA region have arrested numerous OMMP participants for possessing large amounts of marijuana beyond their permitted limits of dried marijuana and live cannabis plants. Many of these suspects have been convicted of selling marijuana, which is not allowed under OMMP. While these crimes occur in the HIDTA region and throughout the state, the public is unlikely to know about this trend because the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act (ORS 475.300-ORS 475.346) prevents law enforcement from releasing information about OMMP participants. With the large number of individuals registered with the OMMP program throughout the state and illegal cultivators' attempts to claim protection under this law, these types of crimes often go unreported. As of January 2009, 20,842 patients and 10,424 caregivers14 held medical marijuana registry identification cards in Oregon; more than half of those patients reside in HIDTA counties.

Footnotes

13. Sureņos gang sets active in the Portland area include Blue Devils, Brown Crowd Raza, Compton Varrio La Cinco 155, Compton Varrio Segundo, East Side Locos, Family Kings, Vatos Locos, West Side Thug Family, and Pine Street Click.
14. Caregivers are defined as individuals who are licensed to grow cannabis but who do not have a medical condition themselves.

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