Transportation

Colombian and Dominican DTOs transport SA heroin and cocaine to the New England HIDTA region primarily from New York; however, some Dominican DTOs transport heroin and cocaine to the region from other areas. Some Dominican DTOs travel to Florida, Georgia, or Texas to obtain SA heroin and cocaine for distribution in the New England HIDTA region. Periodically, some Dominican DTOs receive packaged shipments of SA heroin directly from other traffickers located in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela. These DTOs typically repackage the heroin that they receive from foreign-based traffickers; some heroin remains in New England for distribution, and some is transported to New York. Dominican traffickers who receive heroin from foreign sources do so infrequently and usually in response to increased law enforcement presence or to avoid intermittent price increases from their heroin sources in New York.

Mexican DTOs primarily transport cocaine, marijuana, and SA heroin, as well as limited quantities of ice methamphetamine, to the New England HIDTA region. Mexican DTOs typically transport these drugs, concealed in personal vehicles and tractor-trailers, from the Southwest Border area. For instance, in August 2006 law enforcement officers seized 123 kilograms of cocaine in a tractor-trailer in the North Shore area of Boston. The cocaine, which was being transported by a Mexican DTO, was destined for the New England HIDTA region. More recently, however, some Mexican DTOs have begun to travel to Atlanta for cocaine, marijuana, and SA heroin supplies. Additionally, Mexican traffickers transport small quantities of ice methamphetamine to the New England HIDTA region; such transportation is limited because there is little demand for the drug in the area.

Several criminal groups smuggle marijuana across the U.S.-Canada border into the New England HIDTA region using various means of transport. Asian criminal groups smuggle marijuana, often concealed in duffel bags, spare tires, or engine compartments, across the border in personal vehicles and tractor-trailers. Asian criminal groups also transport some marijuana across the U.S.-Canada border in small private airplanes and drop the drug just over the border in the United States. U.S.-based traffickers retrieve the air-dropped packages and either store the drugs in stash houses located along the border or transport the marijuana to drug markets within the New England HIDTA region. Native American traffickers on the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation (commonly referred to as the Akwesasne Indian Reservation), which is located partially in New York State and partially in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, Canada, smuggle marijuana into the United States using personal vehicles, boats, sleds, and snowmobiles. Caucasian criminal groups based in the United States and Canada transport smaller marijuana loads, usually in backpacks or duffel bags, across the U.S.-Canada border.

Asian DTOs transport high-potency hydroponic marijuana and MDMA from Canada for distribution throughout the New England HIDTA region. These organizations typically transport the drugs in personal vehicles outfitted with concealed compartments. Additionally, these DTOs commingle large quantities of MDMA with large marijuana loads on tractor-trailers.

Pharmaceutical abusers in the New England HIDTA region are increasingly obtaining prescription drugs such as OxyContin (oxycodone) and Dilaudid (hydromorphone) illegally over the Internet from distributors based in the United States. The U.S.-based distributors obtain wholesale quantities of prescription drugs from foreign sources of supply in Brazil, China, and Serbia. They generally correspond with abusers in New England through online forums and message boards on web sites that host encrypted e-mail services. Local abusers electronically wire-transfer money to the U.S.-based distributors, whereupon the drugs are delivered through package delivery services.

Figure 2. New England HIDTA region transportation infrastructure.

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