Outlook

Drug distribution, and its associated violence, in the PC HIDTA region will most likely intensify over the next year. As Bloods street gang members attempt to increase their dominance of the Camden drug market, territorial disputes will develop. In addition, because Asian street gangs may become more entrenched in Philadelphia, gang-related violence, particularly violence related to high-potency marijuana and ice methamphetamine distribution operations, will rise.

Relationships between Mexican DTOs and Colombian and Dominican DTOs in the PC HIDTA region will quite likely strengthen in the coming years. Colombian and Dominican DTOs have already forged business relationships with Mexican DTOs to transport large quantities of cocaine and heroin to various domestic locations, including markets in the PC HIDTA region. This arrangement enables Colombian and Dominican traffickers to insulate themselves from high-risk smuggling activities and gives Mexican DTOs a larger role in the high-profit drug trade. Stronger relationships between Mexican DTOs and Colombian and Dominican traffickers will most likely lead to increased availability of cocaine and heroin in the region, a development that might result in marginally lower prices and increased demand.

The availability of Mexican ice methamphetamine is likely to rise in the HIDTA region in the next year and result in a corresponding increase in abuse. The region has an established population of stimulant abusers who might be enticed to switch to methamphetamine if the drug were to become more available and prices were to decrease. Mexican DTOs, which are gaining prominence in the region and have ready access to large quantities of high-potency ice, are very likely to transport more methamphetamine to the area to create a new market for the drug. An increase in the number of abusers addicted to ice methamphetamine could severely compromise the ability of treatment agencies in the PC HIDTA region to provide adequate care, not only because they are already overtaxed as a result of the large number of cocaine and heroin abusers, but also because the highly addictive nature of methamphetamine often leads to high rates of recidivism.

Diverted pharmaceutical abuse in the PC HIDTA region is likely to increase over the next year and will be driven by the growing popularity of these drugs among young adults and adolescents and their wide availability through Internet pharmacies and personal networks. This situation could lead to increased levels of heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine abuse because some pharmaceutical drug abusers will inevitably advance to using such major drugs of abuse.

Drug money laundering through casinos is most likely to become more of a problem in the PC HIDTA region in the next year. Many DTOs in the region already transport drug proceeds to Atlantic City, where they launder the funds through existing casinos; however, recent and anticipated casino openings and the addition of slot machines at horse racing tracks in Pennsylvania will quite likely increase the frequency of casino-related money laundering.

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