Drug-Related Crime

Much of the violent crime and property crime in the Northern California HIDTA region is attributed to illicit drug trafficking and abuse. Rivalries among trafficking groups, particularly street gangs, over control of drug market territory generate significant levels of violent crime such as assault, homicide, and robbery in metropolitan areas. Methamphetamine trafficking and abuse also significantly impact crime in the area. Law enforcement officials report that as much as 90 percent of burglary, domestic violence, and assault incidents have a nexus to methamphetamine distribution and abuse. In addition, abusers of illicit drugs commit high levels of property crime, including identity theft, to acquire money with which to purchase illicit drugs. Home invasion robberies of indoor cannabis operations are also increasing within the HIDTA region.

Increasing gang membership and expanding drug distribution by gangs have resulted in increased violence in the Northern California HIDTA region, particularly in the East Bay and cities in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties. Moreover, much of the violence against law enforcement officers in the HIDTA region is gang-related. Street gangs and OMGs in the area are attempting to increase their membership to gain greater influence and control, including control over retail drug distribution. Additionally, HIDTA law enforcement officials report an increase in violence among the younger generation of street gang members who are trying to establish a reputation for themselves. Younger gang members also are more likely to show aggression toward law enforcement officers. In January 2007 eight members of a violent San Francisco-based street gang known as Down Below Gang pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy charges and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. The defendants admitted to committing various acts of violence--three murders in 2004, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, armed robbery, carjacking, and drug trafficking. Four defendants admitted to possessing a total of six handguns and an assault rifle in connection with drug distribution.

Aggression and acts of violence committed by cannabis cultivators who protect outdoor grows in remote areas or on public lands are increasing law enforcement and public safety concerns. According to Northern California HIDTA officials, an increasing number of armed individuals are protecting cannabis crops because of their high value, the competition with other outdoor growers, and previous successful eradication efforts by law enforcement. Additionally, many crop tenders are illegal aliens who must tend a grow site through a successful harvest to pay the Mexican traffickers who sponsored their entry into the country. Some sites are also protected by life-threatening booby traps. Cannabis cultivation operations are a threat to the safety of law enforcement officers as well as to unwitting visitors, hunters, and hikers. For instance, in August 2005 an armed guard of a 22,000-plant outdoor grow in Santa Clara County engaged in a shootout with law enforcement officers. A California Fish and Game warden was shot in the legs before the guard was killed. Moreover, because the cannabis harvest season and the beginning of deer season take place at the same time, numerous incidents have been reported about hunters who inadvertently discovered grow sites and had altercations with armed guards.

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Abuse

Illicit drug abuse in the Northern California HIDTA region, particularly the abuse of ice methamphetamine, is at high levels. Ice methamphetamine is readily available and typically of high quality. Moreover, the ice methamphetamine market in the region is strong and long established. High-potency marijuana, cocaine, crack, black tar heroin, ODDs, and diverted pharmaceuticals also are commonly distributed and abused within the HIDTA region.

An April 2007 University of California at Los Angeles study of the California Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act (SACPA), Proposition 36,⁷ reported that the highest population of defendants who went through treatment programs in California were methamphetamine abusers. In the fourth year of the study (2004-2005), more than half of the SACPA participants who entered treatment reported methamphetamine as their primary drug of abuse, followed by powder cocaine/crack, marijuana, alcohol, and heroin.⁸ Moreover, data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) reveal that methamphetamines/amphetamines were identified more often than any other drug, including alcohol, as the primary substance of abuse for admissions to publicly funded treatment facilities in California during the period of 2002 through 2005 (the latest year for which data are available).

Flavored and colored methamphetamine is another serious concern for law enforcement officials and treatment providers because it is marketed toward younger users. Young people who have been taught that methamphetamine is dangerous may perceive this new flavored or colored version to be some other drug or candy. According to treatment providers, younger users can experience acute adverse reactions, including panic, pounding in the chest, uncontrollable shaking, and sweating because of the high purity levels. Some abusers can become suicidally depressed when withdrawing from the drug.

Abuse of diverted pharmaceuticals is an increasing problem within the region, especially for teenagers and young adults. According to treatment providers, the most sought-after and abused pharmaceuticals are benzodiazepines, hydrocodone, oxycodone, and synthetic opiates such as fentanyl.⁹ Moreover, during the last year opiate abusers began to abuse fentanyl patches, chewing on them or breaking them open to extract the drug. Distributors and abusers commonly divert pharmaceutical drugs through doctor-shopping, drug thefts, prescription forgery, and Internet purchases. The ease with which drug traffickers and addicts obtain pharmaceuticals from the Internet is a significant concern for law enforcement officials and public health treatment providers.

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Illicit Finance

A wide variety of money laundering techniques are used by traffickers in the Northern California HIDTA region in an attempt to mask their drug proceeds. Bulk transportation of illicit proceeds is the primary laundering method used by Mexican traffickers, who typically smuggle money to Mexico via private and commercial vehicles traveling south through San Diego. Asian traffickers also employ bulk transport to launder drug proceeds. They smuggle bulk currency to Canada via private and commercial vehicles or to Asian countries via aircraft, maritime conveyances, and package delivery services. Mexican and Asian traffickers also launder drug proceeds through money transmittal businesses located in their own ethnic communities. They also own businesses such as import/export operations that function as money remitters either legitimately or illegitimately.

Traffickers, particularly Asian criminal groups, also launder money through informal value transfer systems (IVTSs) such as hawalas, hundi, and fei ch'ien. Illicit money transfers made through these underground systems are easily concealed in the high volume of legal transfers made within the systems. The amount of illicit drug proceeds laundered through IVTSs is largely unknown because each ethnic community maintains its own IVTS that is exclusively used by members of that ethnic group; these underground systems are not easily penetrated by law enforcement. Traffickers also are using the Internet more often to launder money via electronic pay and/or transfer accounts. The anonymity afforded by Internet transactions enables traffickers to launder drug proceeds with minimal risk of law enforcement detection. Traffickers launder money through prepaid debit cards, which have a credit line equal to the amount deposited and are used to make purchases or obtain cash. These cards can be obtained with cash and minimal identification, thus providing anonymity to the user.

End Notes

7. Proposition 36 provides for drug treatment in lieu of incarceration under California law for nonviolent defendants arrested for possession of a controlled substance.
8. A total of 48,473 offenders were referred for treatment during the fourth year of the California Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act (SACPA). Of this total, 36,285 (74.9%) entered treatment.
9. Fentanyl is a Schedule II synthetic opiate used primarily to treat pain and as a general or regional postsurgical anesthetic. It is approximately 80 times more potent than morphine. Common brand names include Actiq (lollipop/lozenge) and Duragesic (transdermal patch).

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