Production

Drug production in the Milwaukee HIDTA region is generally limited to the conversion of powder to crack cocaine by African American street gangs and to occasional indoor cannabis cultivation by independent Caucasian traffickers. African American gangs in Milwaukee regularly receive large shipments of powder cocaine and convert most of it to crack. Typically, only a few "cooks" trusted by the street gangs convert powder cocaine into crack, generally in the basements of houses in African American communities on the north side of Milwaukee. These cooks are paid per kilogram of powder cocaine to perform this procedure. Law enforcement officers report that in times of low powder cocaine supply, African American gangs on the north side of Milwaukee have purchased cocaine from Hispanic gangs on the south side in order to continue conversion operations and meet demand.

Most high-potency marijuana available in the Milwaukee HIDTA region originates in Canada; however, some indoor cannabis grow sites that produce personal-use to low-level distribution quantities of high-potency marijuana are occasionally discovered in the area. The grow sites are typically operated by Caucasian males, who abuse and sometimes independently distribute the drug. State law enforcement authorities report a trend involving cannabis "grow closets" in the Milwaukee area. These grow closets look like stand-alone refrigerators or freezers but are completely self-contained cannabis grow sites; their use reportedly increases the growth rate of cannabis plants. A supply company in Vancouver, British Columbia, sells grow closets for prices ranging from approximately $3,300 to $8,000.

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Transportation

Most illicit drugs available in Milwaukee are transshipped through Chicago. Typically, a drug-laden conveyance is driven from the Southwest Border area to Chicago, the bulk of its shipment is offloaded, and it is then driven to Milwaukee to deliver the remaining cargo. However, some cocaine, marijuana, and heroin are transported directly to Milwaukee from various locations, including the Southwest Border area, West Coast drug markets, and midwestern drug markets. Some midlevel quantities of marijuana and cocaine are transported directly to larger cities in the HIDTA region, such as Kenosha, Racine, and Waukesha.

Mexican criminal groups and street gangs are the primary transporters of wholesale quantities of powder cocaine and marijuana to the region. Having familial and sometimes organizational contacts in Mexico as well as Chicago, Mexican criminal groups and street gangs are well-placed to supply wholesale quantities of drugs to the region; in most cases they use tractor-trailers and private vehicles to transport illicit drugs to the region.

Dominican and Colombian criminal groups also supply illicit drugs to the HIDTA region; they generally transport wholesale quantities of powder cocaine and heroin from Chicago and, to a lesser extent, East Coast cities such as Boston and New York. Moreover, Canada-based Vietnamese criminals and some Caucasian criminals smuggle wholesale quantities of high-potency marijuana and MDMA through Michigan and Minnesota en route to Milwaukee.

Somali criminal groups accept international, wholesale khat shipments in Milwaukee that are destined primarily for Minneapolis. Law enforcement interdiction efforts have disrupted khat shipments sent directly to Minneapolis, forcing Somali criminal groups to ship the drug into Milwaukee for transshipment to Minneapolis.

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