National Drug Intelligence Center   Philadelphia/Camden High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis 2008   April 2008

Distribution

Various DTOs, criminal groups, gangs, and independent dealers of differing nationalities and ethnicities sell illicit drugs at the wholesale level, midlevel, and retail level in the PC HIDTA region. (See Table 1.)

Table 1. Drug Distribution Activities in the Philadelphia/Camden High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, 2008

Source: Philadelphia/Camden High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.

Colombian and Dominican DTOs based in New York City are the principal wholesale distributors of cocaine and SA heroin in the PC HIDTA region. They supply midlevel and retail quantities of these drugs to African American, Caucasian, Dominican, Jamaican, and Puerto Rican DTOs as well as to independent dealers, street gangs, imprisoned gang members, and OMGs. Dominican DTOs also supply smaller cities in eastern Pennsylvania, such as Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton, and Reading, and suburban and rural areas, such as Hazelton, Sunbury, and the Pocono Mountains.

Mexican DTOs distribute wholesale quantities of cocaine, most of the commercial-grade marijuana, and significant quantities of powder and ice methamphetamine in the HIDTA region. They use well-established, national-level transportation networks to supply these drugs to African American, Dominican, Jamaican, and Puerto Rican midlevel and retail distributors. Additionally, some Mexican DTOs use Atlanta as a distribution center for cocaine and methamphetamine destined for the region.

Vietnamese criminal groups distribute MDMA, high-potency marijuana, and methamphetamine in the region that they obtain from Canada-based Asian DTOs. These criminal groups supply high-potency marijuana to a specific customer base, particularly affluent individuals who are willing to pay more for higher-quality marijuana. Additionally, Vietnamese criminal groups in the region sell wholesale quantities of MDMA and retail quantities of high-purity ice methamphetamine.

Neighborhood-based African American and Hispanic street gangs control retail drug distribution in the PC HIDTA region; they commonly distribute crack cocaine, heroin, and other illicit drugs in open-air drug markets. Various OMGs also serve as retail-level drug distributors. According to law enforcement officials, OMGs commonly use bars in the region as distribution sites for methamphetamine and marijuana.

Retail drug distribution typically occurs in open-air markets. Many of these markets are controlled by a particular gang or criminal group that either sells drugs at that location or collects a percentage of the profits from drug sales conducted by another group. Gangs and criminal groups generally establish ownership of open-air markets through long-term drug sales in a particular area, by taking control through violence or threats of violence, or by purchasing the right to sell drugs in a particular open-air market from other gangs or criminal groups, often at a high price. Retail distributors use cell phones to facilitate drug sales in the HIDTA region. Distributors use pagers far less often than in the past and, instead, use cell phones to negotiate transactions and prearrange meetings with customers. Traffickers prefer to conduct business conversations on phones with point-to-point capabilities, believing that these communications are difficult for law enforcement to intercept. Distributors also use text messaging to communicate and arrange meetings. They typically use cell phones for a limited time before switching to a new phone with a new number to further reduce the possibility of having calls monitored.

Many street gang members store drugs in stash locations throughout the HIDTA region and then bring smaller amounts to open-air markets to facilitate distribution and to lower the risk of having large quantities of drugs seized. Many Bloods street gang members store cocaine in sparsely furnished rental properties separate from their residences.

Pharmaceutical drugs often are diverted by abusers through a variety of methods. Abusers in the HIDTA region historically acquired prescription drugs through doctor-shopping, forged prescriptions, or unscrupulous physicians and pharmacists working alone or in association; however, many of these individuals have been dissuaded from using these methods because of prescription monitoring programs (PMPs).² and increased law enforcement scrutiny. As a result, abusers have shifted to other means of obtaining pharmaceuticals, such as theft, purchase from retail distributors, or acquisition through personal networks, such as friends or family. For example, law enforcement officials report that some criminal groups and abusers in the region occasionally steal pharmaceutical drugs from delivery trucks that transport the drugs from manufacturers to wholesale or retail distributors. Additionally, abusers in the HIDTA region, particularly teenagers and young adults, increasingly are using the Internet to obtain pharmaceutical drugs. These individuals reportedly place orders with online pharmacies or distributors located throughout the United States or foreign countries. They often discuss transactions and place orders on web logs ("blogs") and bulletin boards, in chat rooms, or through e-mail and electronic messaging. This situation poses a particular challenge to law enforcement officials because individuals can exchange information and consummate Internet sales quickly and with relative anonymity.

End Note

2. Prescription monitoring programs (PMPs) are systems in which controlled substance prescription data are collected in a centralized database and administered by an authorized state agency to facilitate the early detection of trends in diversion and abuse.

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