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National
Drug Intelligence Center
California - Southern District Drug Threat
Assessment
December 2000
Heroin
Heroin continues to be smuggled into the district, mostly through
Southern California POEs. Virtually all the heroin that is available is
of Mexican origin, predominantly black tar, but also brown powder.
However, South American heroin has also been seized in the district.
Mexican DTOs are the major sources of the heroin smuggled across the
California-Mexico border. Heroin is also transshipped through the region
to other destinations.
Once heroin is smuggled into the region, wholesale and retail
distribution is handled by a variety of groups, including street gangs
and independent dealers, some Caucasian but predominantly Hispanic. In
1999, various law enforcement agencies in San Diego and Imperial
Counties conducted 595 narcotic enforcement actions involving heroin.
This represented 8 percent of the total; however, this figure may be
understated as there were 503 polydrug actions in which heroin most
likely was involved.
To varying degrees, local law enforcement identifies heroin as an
ongoing threat. The San Diego Sheriff's Department and the Chula Vista
Police Department classify the heroin threat as moderate and stable. The
San Diego Police Department classifies the heroin threat as moderate but
increasing and reports a growing number of younger users. These sources
also classify abuse as moderate; however, according to the California
Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs, drug use indicators for
FY1998-FY2000 show an increase in treatment admissions for heroin abuse
over the 3-year period. However, information from the DEA San Diego
Field Division indicates that availability may be high--black tar is
available in multikilogram quantities. The DEA Imperial County Resident
Office reports that it is encountering heroin in "traditionally
methamphetamine/cocaine-related local impact investigations." It
further reports that "significant amounts"--1/2- to 1-pound
quantities--are now common in the county.
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According to a May 2000 open source report, the trend in San Diego
and Imperial Counties toward younger heroin users is reflected at the
national level. The average age for heroin users in the United States
declined from 27.4 years in 1988 to 17.6 in 1997 and use among females
increased dramatically. It is further reported that heroin use has moved
to middle-class suburbs. The user population covers a broad spectrum
from white-collar professionals in affluent suburbs to kids in small
farm communities. The Imperial County Narcotics Task Force reports that
heroin is the drug of choice among Mexican migrant workers.
California drug abuse indicators for the most recent reporting period
show heroin use increasing, particularly in northern San Diego County.
Between FY1998 and FY1999, drug treatment admissions for heroin
increased in both San Diego and Imperial Counties. In San Diego County,
admissions rose 7.9 percent from 4,663 to 5,035, and in Imperial County,
admissions increased 11.2 percent from 232 to 258. Individuals from 18
to 55 years of age sought treatment for heroin abuse but most were in
the 26- to 50-year-old group; they were predominantly male (over 65
percent) and white.
According to recent data prepared by the California Department
of Alcohol and Drug Programs, the trend toward increased heroin
use in Imperial County continued in FY2000. However, these same
figures reflect a downward trend for heroin use in San Diego
County.
A recent DEA San Diego report indicates that Imperial County
may be experiencing the beginning of a heroin epidemic in the
small cities of Winterhaven and Bard. Both cities are located in
the southeast area of the county, near the California-Arizona
border and Yuma, Arizona.
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According to the Community Epidemiology Work Group (CEWG), the number
of users injecting the drug is increasing. There is growing concern that
the injection of heroin may be increasing among young users. Deadly
results have occurred in California from the intravenous use of black
tar heroin. In 1999, five addicts in San Francisco died from bacterial
infections contracted after injecting the drug. The bacteria blamed for
the death, Clostridium perfringens, thrives in black tar heroin and
causes a flesh-eating infection called necrotising fasciitis. Health
officials report that at least four people were treated in Northern
California for "wound botulism," an infection which attacks
the blood and central nervous system, causing paralysis and death. The
deaths were traced to a contaminated batch of Mexican black tar heroin.
The most recent available DAWN Medical Examiner Data for the San
Diego area show that heroin/morphine-related deaths increased from 137
in 1995 to 165 in 1996 but remained level at 165 through 1998. (See Chart 2.)
Chart 2.
Heroin/Morphine-Related Deaths, San Diego, 1995-1998

d-link
Total Drug Deaths
Heroin/Morphine
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration,
Drug Abuse Warning Network, Annual Medical Examiner Data 1998.
According to a June 2000 news report, heroin-related deaths have
occurred in Ireland and Scotland. In Ireland, officials reported
that eight users died and seven have been hospitalized. Glasgow,
Scotland, officials reported 16 deaths and 12 additional cases
of a "mystery illness" linked to heroin use by
injection. Black tar heroin is reportedly not available in
Ireland or Scotland. However, authorities in Glasgow believe
that users were taking a crudely produced form of heroin that
was difficult to dissolve and using excessive levels of citric
acid to break it down. Doctors believe that injecting such large
amounts of citric acid into the tissue causes localized damage,
which allows the bacteria to spread. All victims in Glasgow
injected heroin directly into tissue and all had used citric
acid to dissolve the drug. Pathology reports on the Glasgow
victims indicated citric acid present at six times the normal
level. Authorities in Ireland have not yet identified a link
between the cases in the United States or Scotland. There also
were 14 cases of the illness reported in London, England; seven
of the victims died.
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Black tar and, to a lesser extent, brown powdered heroin from Mexico
predominate in the western half of the United States. The DEA San Diego
Field Division reports that black tar heroin currently is available in
multikilogram quantities and that the purity level has remained
relatively high. In September 2000, DEA reported purity levels of up to
70 percent and the price from $800 to $1,450 per ounce, down from the
$1,000 to $3,000 reported for 1999. The DEA in Carlsbad reports that
Mexican heroin is readily available in the area and sells for about
$1,000 per ounce.
In 1999, a kilogram of 79 percent pure black tar heroin sold for
$40,000 to $75,000 in Imperial County. A kilogram of 50 to 65 percent
pure black tar heroin sold for $80,000 to $90,000 in San Diego County.
NIN quotes the price of black tar heroin in Imperial County, as of March
2000, at $14,000 per pound; this equates to $30,800 per kilogram. The
DEA in Imperial County reports that heroin is available in significant
amounts--1/2- to 1-pound quantities. They further report that the drug
sells for about $800 per ounce, slightly less than the reported average
street price.
As reported by the El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC), seizures of
heroin in San Diego and Imperial Counties increased 36 percent from 1996
to 1999 (73.5 kg to 99.7 kg). The 1999 figures represent 41 percent of
the total seized on the Southwest Border compared to 46 percent of the
total seized in 1996. The amount of heroin seized continued to increase
during the first six months of 2000. Heroin seizures reported for 1998
indicate that Mexican and, to a lesser extent, South American heroin are
being smuggled into the California border region. (See Chart 3.)
Chart 3. Types of Heroin Seized at the California Border

d-link
Mexican Black
Tar Mexican Brown Powder
South
American Unknown
Source: California Border Alliance Group, Narcotic Threat Assessment
FY2001, 1 April 2000.
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Heroin use is not normally associated with violence; however, heroin
abusers may commit crimes such as robbery and burglary to support their
drug habits. Heroin trafficking, like the trafficking of other drugs, is
accompanied by criminal activity. Criminal groups and individuals
involved in the trafficking and distribution of heroin may use violence
to protect drug shipments or to maintain control over distribution in a
given area.
Street gangs, many of which are known to commit violent acts, are
involved in the distribution of drugs in both San Diego and Imperial
Counties. Local law enforcement estimates that street gangs distribute
20 to 50 percent of the drugs in their areas. Respondents to the NDIC
Gang Survey 2000 identify a number of street gangs involved in the
distribution of multiple drugs including heroin. These gangs are also
involved in drive-by shooting, homicide, carjacking, and home invasion
crimes, most of which are not classified as drug-related.
Another measure of the relationship between criminal behavior and
drug use is the percentage of arrestees testing positive for drugs, in
this case opiates. According to ADAM, opiate use among adult male
arrestees increased slightly between 1995 and 1998. In 1995, 8 percent
of male arrestees tested positive for opiate use while 9 percent tested
positive in 1999, a one percent increase. Comparatively, the percentage
of female arrestees testing positive for opiate use decreased from 12
percent in 1995 to 10.9 percent in 1999, a one percent decrease. Opiate
use among male juvenile offenders (ages 9 through 18), decreased
slightly during the same time frame, from 1 percent in 1995 to .4
percent in 1999. ADAM did not report any data for female juvenile
offenders in 1995, however, for 1999 ADAM reports that 2.3 percent of
female juveniles tested positive for opiates.
Mexico is the dominant source of heroin available in the western
United States. In 1999, the U.S. Government estimated that drug
traffickers in Mexico cultivated 2 percent of the world's opium poppy
crop and produced an estimated 4.3 metric tons of heroin. Opium
continues to be produced in western Mexico along the spine of the Sierra
Madre, an area extending from the states of Sinaloa, Chihuahua, and
Durango south to the states of Oaxaca and Guerrero. Seizure reporting
indicates that significant quantities of heroin and opium gum originate
in the state of Michoacan. In an important development, the government
of Mexico reports that Mexican heroin traffickers are implementing new
cultivation strategies to increase opium poppy yields. Poppy plants that
used to produce 1 to 2 bulbs now produce 9 to 10 bulbs. Plants grown in
Sinaloa, Chihuahua, and Durango can each produce 20 to 30 bulbs
measuring 1¾ to 2 inches in diameter.
Historically, Mexican heroin traffickers have produced and marketed
only black tar and brown powdered heroin, but the seizure of two heroin
production laboratories in the last 2 years indicates that Mexican
organizations may be working with Colombian chemists to produce white
heroin. However, no recent information confirms the current production
of Mexican white heroin.
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Mexican DTOs control the transportation and smuggling of heroin into
and through Southern California. The biggest percentage is smuggled
through the POEs: from Tijuana via San Ysidro, from Mexicali via
Calexico, and through Otay Mesa and Tecate. As with other drugs smuggled
into the United States from Mexico, heroin is moved through Mexico to
the California-Mexico border, mostly overland. Mexico has several major
highways (Highways 1, 2, and 5) that terminate at the border. On the
California side, there are major routes (Interstates 5, 15, 215, and
Highway 111) and secondary routes that radiate north from the border and
interconnect with west-east routes (Interstates 8, 10, 40). Transporters
use these highways to move heroin overland to stash houses and major
population centers in California and other states. (See Overview Map and Map 1.)
Smugglers use various means to transport heroin: vehicles, commercial
airlines, mailing services, and couriers. Illegal immigrants and migrant
workers often serve as couriers, smuggling small amounts of heroin
across the border. Females are used more often than males to move large
quantities of heroin. In May 2000, USCS inspectors at San Ysidro
arrested two women after 28 pounds of heroin and 64 pounds of cocaine
were found in a hidden compartment of a personal vehicle. The street
value of the drugs was estimated at $1.3 million. The authorities stated
that it was unusual to find both heroin and cocaine in one shipment.
Other recent seizures at California POEs include 7.6 pounds of heroin
seized from a pedestrian and two seizures, 22 pounds and 6 pounds, from
personal vehicles. In the case of the pedestrian, the heroin was hidden
inside the false wall of a hard-shell suitcase; in the vehicles, one
shipment of heroin was hidden in a quarter panel and the other was
hidden in a battery.
The wholesale distribution of heroin in Southern California is
controlled by Mexico-based DTOs. These organizations smuggle heroin into
the area, where the drug is distributed locally and transshipped to
cities, particularly Los Angeles, and to areas across the United States.
At the local level, heroin is distributed through middlemen to dealers
such as gangs, loosely formed groups, and independents.
Wholesale
Mexican criminals, most of whom maintain a Mexicali or Tijuana base,
are the principal wholesale distributors for heroin in Southern
California. They rely on established smuggling and distribution networks
to move heroin to market. Mexican or Mexican-American criminals with
ties to the Mexican states of Durango, Michoacan, Nuevo Leon, Sinaloa,
and Tamaulipas usually distribute black tar heroin. Two major Mexican
DTOs dominate heroin smuggling across the U.S.-Mexico border, the
Arellano-Felix Organization and the Miguel Angel Caro-Quintero
Organization. The San Diego Sheriff's Department reported that Tijuana
and Nayarit are the main source areas for heroin in San Diego County. It
also reports that heroin is transshipped through San Diego County to Los
Angeles and other cities.
In June 2000, DEA agents moved against a major heroin distribution
group that extended from Nayarit, Mexico, to San Diego and cities across
the United States including Albuquerque, Anchorage, Chicago, Cleveland,
Detroit, Honolulu, and Los Angeles. Operating out of Los Angeles, the
group dispatched young girls and elderly men, traveling alone, carrying
1- to 2-pound packages of heroin to various destinations. The
distribution group was successful at establishing customer bases in new
cities. One of the methods used to market its heroin was to set up
"shooting galleries" near methadone clinics to lure customers
who were in methadone treatment programs. The group dealt in pound- to
street-level quantities of 60 to 85 percent pure heroin, selling
hundreds of thousands of doses per month.
As with the distribution of other drugs, major trafficking
organizations usually supply heroin to middlemen. These middlemen
normally work with known dealers who distribute the heroin at the street
level. The street dealers include various drug distribution groups,
Hispanic and Caucasian street gangs, and independents. Some of the San
Diego gangs involved in the distribution of heroin include the Vistas
Home Boys, Barrio Fallbrook Locos, and Barrio Encinitas, all Hispanic.
In San Marcos, the Barrio San Marcos and South Los gangs distribute
heroin and other drugs. On January 19, 2000, police arrested two men in
Barrio Logan who were selling heroin and cocaine from their car. In
April 2000, DEA agents in Imperial County seized 190 grams of black tar
heroin in the business district of El Centro. The heroin was wrapped in
clear plastic and black electrical tape. Heroin is frequently packaged
in clear plastic, but the San Diego Police Department reports that
street-level doses of heroin may be packaged in plastic that has been
cut from grocery bags and then heat-sealed. Aluminum foil is another
form of packaging used.
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