Drug Threat Overview

Crack cocaine distribution poses the greatest drug threat to the Lake County HIDTA region. Mexican DTOs transport multiton quantities of powder cocaine to Lake County for local abuse and further distribution to other drug markets. Most of the powder cocaine that remains in Lake County is converted to crack cocaine and distributed by numerous street gangs. Subsequently, these gangs often engage in violent criminal activity to protect their operations and drug territories, further contributing to the threat posed to the region.

Commercial-grade marijuana is the most widely available and abused illicit drug in Lake County. High-potency marijuana is not commonly abused in the region. Heroin abuse and availability have increased, predominantly among adolescents. The most common types of heroin abused in the region are South American (SA) and Southeast Asian (SEA); however, other types, including Southwest Asian (SWA) and Mexican brown powder are also available. Heroin-related deaths, particularly among young Caucasians from affluent suburban areas in Lake County and neighboring Porter County, have increased over the past few years. Powder methamphetamine production and abuse are not significant problems in Lake County; however, some ice methamphetamine is transported through the region by Mexican DTOs for distribution in other markets. The availability and abuse of MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, also know as ecstasy) are decreasing in the region, most likely as a result of several recent investigations involving MDMA distributors who had been supplying the drug. The availability and abuse of diverted pharmaceuticals such as oxycodone and hydrocodone are at relatively stable but moderate levels.

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Drug Trafficking Organizations

Mexican DTOs based in Chicago and Lake County pose the greatest organized drug trafficking threat to the Lake County HIDTA region. Chicago-based Mexican DTOs have expanded their drug trafficking operations into neighboring Lake County. Mexican DTOs provide local street gang members and independent dealers with a steady supply of wholesale quantities of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana. They also use the Lake County HIDTA region as a transshipment and storage area for large amounts of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana that they distribute to other markets, primarily in eastern states.

Street gang members are the primary retail distributors of illicit drugs in Lake County and are responsible for the high level of drug-related crimes committed in metropolitan areas of the HIDTA region, specifically Gary, Hammond, and East Chicago. Members of street gangs such as Gangster Disciples, Imperial Gangsters, Vice Lords, and Latin Kings obtain wholesale quantities of powder cocaine from Mexican DTOs and convert most of it to crack for retail distribution in metropolitan areas. They also distribute retail-level quantities of heroin and marijuana that they obtain from Mexican DTOs. Street gangs in Lake County rely on drug distribution as their primary source of revenue. As such, they are protective of their distribution territories and sometimes resort to violence if they believe that another dealer is infringing on their area.

Lake County-based street gangs, which have an estimated 2,500 members, vary in their degree of organization and sophistication. Most are loose affiliations of young people joined for fraternal purposes and the generation of income through drug distribution. However, a few street gangs are highly structured and organized. The most organized street gangs are located in East Chicago, where some have been linked directly to DTOs in Mexico. Further, East Chicago street gangs are more likely than other gangs in the Lake County HIDTA region to use sophisticated communication and countersurveillance techniques.

Some larger Lake County street gangs also have ties to Chicago-based street gangs, particularly for the purpose of acquiring illicit drugs for retail distribution. Law enforcement authorities report that street gangs in Lake County are not controlled by Chicago-based gangs; however, distribution of illicit drugs in Lake County is facilitated through associations between Lake County and Chicago-based street gang members. These associations have been strengthened by the razing of several Chicago public housing projects, an action that led to the recent relocation of Chicago street gang members to Lake County.

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