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National Drug Intelligence
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The Lake County HIDTA region consists of Lake County, located in northwestern Indiana adjacent to the Chicago metropolitan area, and has a diverse demographic and socioeconomic composition. (See Figure 1.) The northern tier of the county includes the three largest cities--Gary, Hammond, and East Chicago. These cities have relatively high crime rates, significantly low median household incomes, and declining urban environments of abandoned factories and buildings. High levels of drug distribution and abuse take place in the northern tier of the county. Conversely, the southern half of Lake County and neighboring Porter County contain affluent cities and rural communities that have lower crime rates, higher median household incomes, and commercial and residential development. Abusers in southern Lake County and Porter County typically travel to northern tier cities or to Chicago to purchase cocaine, heroin, and marijuana.
Several major highways (Interstates 65, 80/94, and 90) intersect in Lake County and are frequently used by traffickers to transport illicit drugs into and through the region from Chicago, as well as directly from Mexico through the Southwest Border. Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) are the primary transporters of large shipments of cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine from Mexico into and through the region, often en route to drug markets in the Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, and Southeast Regions of the United States.
Metropolitan areas in the HIDTA region, particularly Gary, Hammond, and East Chicago, experience high levels of drug distribution and abuse along with gang- and drug-related crime. Costs associated with drug-related criminal activity and drug treatment services are straining limited local law enforcement and healthcare resources. Street gang members, many of whom are associated with gangs in Chicago, control most retail drug distribution in the region and are ultimately responsible for high levels of crime. Lake County gang members also contribute to violent crime in other cities such as Chicago, Detroit, and Milwaukee by supplying firearms to criminal associates in those cities.
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