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Bulk cash shipments and money services businesses (MSBs) are the primary methods used by DTOs to move illicit drug proceeds out of the Rocky Mountain HIDTA region to drug source locations in Mexico and Canada. Drug proceeds that remain in the Rocky Mountain HIDTA region are often laundered by traffickers through structured bank transactions, cash-intensive front businesses, and the purchase of tangible assets.
Bulk cash transportation is the most common method used by traffickers to move illicit proceeds from the Rocky Mountain HIDTA to drug source areas. Mexican DTOs use major drug markets in the Rocky Mountain HIDTA region as staging areas to consolidate large amounts of bulk currency that they derive from local wholesale drug transactions and from wholesale transactions with other markets supplied from the region. Mexican DTOs generally transport illicit drug proceeds from secondary markets to consolidation points in and near Colorado Springs, Denver, and Salt Lake City prior to transporting the money in bulk to areas at or near the U.S.-Mexico border. Mexican DTOs compartmentalize their drug distribution and money laundering operations by limiting members' involvement to one specific responsibility and allocating tasks to specific cells. These compartmentalized cells minimize risk to the entire organization in the event that one or more members are arrested. In such an operation, one cell transports a particular drug, such as cocaine, from Mexico or the Southwest Border area to distribution centers in Denver, Colorado Springs, or Salt Lake City. A separate cell transports currency in bulk from those cities to Mexico through southwestern states. Asian DTOs and other traffickers who transport illicit drugs from Canada into the region also transport their illicit proceeds in bulk to source locations.
Mexican DTOs also use MSBs to electronically transfer illicit drug proceeds to areas along the U.S.-Mexico border and into Mexico. Some Mexican DTOs operate MSBs and hire Mexican nationals in groups of 15 to 30; these individuals receive as little as $20 per day to transmit funds to locations in the Southwest Border area. Additionally, in some areas of the HIDTA region, law enforcement officials report that bulk currency shipments have decreased and that wire transfers to Mexico, primarily regular transfers in small amounts, have increased.
Drug proceeds that remain in the Rocky Mountain HIDTA region are often laundered by traffickers through cash-intensive front businesses and the purchase of tangible assets. As the Hispanic population has increased, businesses that cater to this segment of the population have emerged. Most of these businesses are legitimate; however, the primary purpose of some is to launder illicit drug money. These businesses concentrate primarily on cash-intensive transactions and include clothing and dry goods stores, music stores, restaurants, auto body detail shops, and stereo installation shops.
Retail-level drug distributors, including African American, Asian, and Hispanic street gang members, rarely engage in the bulk transport of illicit drug proceeds from the HIDTA region. Instead, they typically use proceeds generated from retail-level drug distribution to operate cash-intensive retail businesses through which they commingle drug proceeds, or they purchase expensive personal items such as jewelry, luxury vehicles, and real estate.
Mexican DTOs will continue to dominate the distribution of methamphetamine, powder cocaine, heroin, and marijuana in the Rocky Mountain HIDTA region. These organizations will capitalize on existing distribution networks and their ability to blend in with the growing Hispanic population to expand their influence beyond large metropolitan areas into secondary markets and more rural areas where law enforcement agencies have fewer resources to counter the threat. The reliance of retail distributors on Mexican wholesale suppliers will continue to strengthen control by wholesalers over the primary and secondary markets in the HIDTA region. Mexican DTOs will continue to use the Rocky Mountain HIDTA region as a staging area for methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, and marijuana distribution as they develop markets in other areas of the country.
Significantly lower levels of methamphetamine production in the Rocky Mountain HIDTA region will continue to reduce the resources needed to remediate laboratory sites; however, the costs associated with treatment for methamphetamine addiction will remain high because of the increased availability and abuse of Mexican ice methamphetamine.
Demand for powder cocaine will increase throughout the HIDTA region; however, crack cocaine abuse will be the predominant form of cocaine abuse, especially in large metropolitan areas. The impact that former methamphetamine abusers will have on cocaine abuse statistics as they switch from methamphetamine to cocaine is an intelligence gap.
Asian DTOs (primarily Vietnamese) and, to a lesser extent, Caucasian criminal groups will increase indoor cannabis cultivation operations in the Rocky Mountain HIDTA region. Rising demand for high-potency marijuana, high profitability, and a desire by wholesale distributors to eliminate transportation costs and loss of the product while en route from Canada and domestic distribution centers outside the HIDTA region will contribute to this increase. Moreover, illicit cannabis cultivators will use provisions of state medicinal marijuana laws to attempt to legitimize their grow operations.
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