Heroin

Heroin constitutes a low threat to South Carolina, with availability and abuse concentrated in urban areas and coastal regions of the state. According to the South Carolina Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services, heroin-related treatment admissions to publicly funded facilities decreased from 421 in FY1997 to 356 in FY1998 then increased to 501 in FY2001. (See Table 1 in Cocaine section.) In 1999--the most recent year for which these data are available--the number of heroin-related treatment admissions per 100,000 population nationwide (105) dramatically exceeded the number per 100,000 population in South Carolina (10), according to TEDS.

Small quantities of heroin from all major source areas are available in South Carolina, primarily in cities and areas frequented by tourists along the Atlantic Coast. South American and, to a lesser extent, Southeast and Southwest Asian white powdered heroin are the types most commonly available. Mexican brown powdered and black tar heroin are available in very limited quantities. According to FDSS data, federal law enforcement officials seized 3.2 kilograms of heroin in FY2001. USSC data indicate that, in FY2001, 3.4 percent of all federal drug-related sentences in South Carolina were heroin-related compared with 7.7 percent nationwide. According to the DEA Atlanta Division, the limited quantities of heroin available in South Carolina sold for $60,000 to $120,000 per kilogram, $2,500 to $5,000 per ounce, and $200 to $500 per gram in the first quarter of FY2001. The DEA Columbia District Office reported that 0.06 grams of heroin sold for $20 in May 2002.

Dominican criminal groups and African American local independent dealers and street gangs are the primary transporters of heroin into South Carolina, typically transporting the drug into the state via private vehicles. Nigerian and Mexican criminal groups transport heroin to a lesser extent. Dominican criminal groups based in New York typically transport heroin from New York to South Carolina coastal regions. African American local independent dealers travel out of state, often to Atlanta and Charlotte, to purchase heroin and transport it back to South Carolina for retail distribution. Nigerian criminal groups operating in Greenville transport small quantities of Southeast and Southwest Asian heroin into South Carolina. Mexican criminal groups transport small quantities of Mexican brown powdered and black tar heroin into the state.

Dominican criminal groups, African American street gangs, and local independent dealers are the primary wholesale distributors of heroin in South Carolina. To a lesser extent, Mexican criminal groups distribute Mexican heroin at the wholesale level. African American street gangs and local independent dealers are the primary retail distributors of heroin in the state. Most retail heroin distribution occurs in private residences and open-air drug markets.

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