National Drug Intelligence Center   Northwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis 2008   June 2008

Production

Outdoor cannabis cultivation and marijuana production operations are common throughout the HIDTA region. Outdoor cannabis cultivation and eradication levels in Washington were relatively high during 2007 (see Table 2). A significant portion of the cannabis eradicated from outdoor sites in Washington during the year was taken from sites located within the HIDTA region (see Table 3). Outdoor cannabis cultivation in the HIDTA region is largely controlled by Mexican DTOs and criminal groups. Outdoor cultivation operations are commonly located on public lands, adversely affecting national parks, forests, and the mountain areas in the region. Additionally, law enforcement officials report that outdoor cannabis grow operations in the Yakima Valley and Tri-Cities³ areas of the region are usually situated in extremely remote locations with limited access. The late summer climate and terrain of the Yakima Valley and Tri-Cities areas are conducive to large-scale outdoor cannabis grow operations. As such, Mexican DTOs and criminal groups exploit these areas to expand their cultivation operations.

Table 2. Cannabis Plants Eradicated From Outdoor Grow Sites in M7 States, 2007

Source: Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program, June 2008.

Table 3. Cannabis Plants Eradicated From Outdoor Grow Sites, by Northwest HIDTA Counties and the State of Washington, 2005-2007

Source: Northwest HIDTA, June 2008.

Indoor cannabis cultivation is prevalent throughout the HIDTA region. (See Table 4.) In fact, eradication data reveal that most indoor cannabis cultivation in Washington, a leading M7 state for indoor cultivation, occurs within the HIDTA region. Moreover, eradication from indoor cannabis cultivation sites in Washington and the HIDTA region has steadily increased over the past several years. Within the region, indoor cannabis cultivation is most prevalent in the Puget Sound and Spokane areas. Caucasian criminal groups, Caucasian independent producers, and Vietnamese DTOs are the primary cultivators of indoor cannabis throughout the region.

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Table 4. Cannabis Plants Eradicated From Indoor Grow Sites, Northwest HIDTA Counties and the State of Washington, 2005-2007

Source: Northwest HIDTA, June 2008.

Increasing demand for high-potency marijuana within and outside the region has prompted a number of Canada-based Asian DTOs and criminal groups, primarily Vietnamese, to establish indoor cultivation operations in the area. In doing so, Asian traffickers seek to capitalize on rising demand for high-potency marijuana in the United States while minimizing their exposure to law enforcement officials at the U.S.-Canada border, including seizure of high-potency Canadian marijuana shipments. Additionally, some Vietnamese criminal groups operate garden supply shops in the area to help Vietnamese cannabis cultivators and other growers establish and maintain indoor grow operations. Shop operators typically stock supplies that they acquire from associates in Canada.

Methamphetamine production in the Northwest HIDTA region has steadily declined over the past several years as a result of sustained law enforcement interdiction efforts, enhanced precursor chemical controls, increased public awareness campaigns, and rising availability of Mexican ice methamphetamine. However, local production persists; some laboratory operators--usually Caucasian independent producers---continue to operate small-capacity methamphetamine laboratories in rural areas, producing ounce quantities of the drug. These producers typically use anhydrous ammonia (a common crop fertilizer) to produce methamphetamine; the chemical is widely available throughout the region, as it is commonly used for legitimate agricultural purposes. National Seizure System (NSS) data reveal that although laboratory-related seizures in the region have decreased significantly, the number of seizures is still relatively high, especially in Pierce County. (See Table 5.)

Table 5. Methamphetamine Laboratory Seizures, Northwest HIDTA Counties and the State of Washington, 2005-2007

Source: National Seizure System, June 11, 2008.

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Transportation

The Northwest HIDTA region's proximity to illicit drug source areas and a multifaceted transportation infrastructure enable traffickers to transport significant quantities of illicit drugs into the area. Major highways in the region, such as I-5, provide traffickers direct access to drug sources in California, Mexico, and Canada. Traffickers also exploit Washington's 430-mile border with Canada to smuggle drugs. Fifteen POEs are located along the U.S.-Canada border through which traffickers transport illicit drugs by vehicle. A significant portion of the border is a vast, dense forest that provides excellent cover for trafficking operations. Several waterways are also located at the border through which traffickers smuggle illicit drugs into the region. In traversing forestlands, traffickers often use all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), snowmobiles, and couriers with backpacks; they generally use small boats and kayaks to negotiate waterways.

Mexican DTOs and criminal groups are the dominant transporters of powder cocaine and Mexican marijuana, black tar heroin, and ice methamphetamine to and through the HIDTA region. These groups obtain illicit drugs from other Mexican DTOs and often coordinate receipt of drug shipments through family members or associates in Mexico, California, or other Southwest Border states. Mexican traffickers generally transport illicit drugs to the region in private and commercial vehicles, traveling on I-5. Their vehicles are typically equipped with false compartments that range, in terms of sophistication, from false gas tanks and hollowed-out tire wells to electronically coded access hatches.

Vietnamese DTOs and criminal groups transport high-potency Canadian marijuana and MDMA to the region, particularly to the Puget Sound area. They often employ Indo-Canadian criminal groups to transport the drugs across the U.S.-Canada border through land POEs, especially the Blaine POE. (See Figure 1 in Preface.) These traffickers capitalize on the high volume of traffic at POEs that limits close inspection of vehicles and cargo. (See Table 6.) Additionally, some Canada-based traffickers smuggle precursor chemicals used in methamphetamine production, such as pseudoephedrine and ephedrine, from Canada into Washington for use at laboratories in the region and elsewhere. However, there is no large-scale smuggling of precursor chemicals into the HIDTA region, according to the Northwest HIDTA.

Table 6. Inbound Crossings Through Washington Land POEs, 2006*

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation.
* The latest year for which such data are available.

Some DTOs and criminal groups operating in the HIDTA region also use maritime and air cargo to move illicit drugs to the region, according to law enforcement reporting. However, the extent to which such modalities are used by traffickers is relatively unknown because of the inherent difficulty law enforcement officials experience in inspecting the large volume of maritime and air cargo that passes through seaports and airports in Washington. For instance, the Port of Seattle alone handled approximately 14,584,816 metric tons (MT) of containerized cargo during 2007, while roughly 319,013 MT of air cargo passed though the Seattle International Airport; approximately 31,296,628 passengers also passed through the airport in 2007.

End Note

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