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National Drug Intelligence Center |
The Houston metropolitan area is the major drug market in the HIDTA region. Several significant outlying markets also exist in the region--specifically, Beaumont/Port Arthur, Corpus Christi, the southern Houston HIDTA region, and PINS.
Houston, located in Harris County, is a major drug distribution center that supplies Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, New York City, and Philadelphia (PA) with illicit drugs, primarily cocaine and marijuana. Houston's well-developed highway system, established financial infrastructure, racial and ethnic diversity, and large volume of international trade contribute to the area's role as a major transshipment center for illicit drugs destined for U.S. drug markets and drug proceeds destined for Mexico. The significant number of drug-related investigations linked to the city, such as cases in Atlanta, Chicago, Miami, (FL) Newark (NJ), New Orleans (LA), New York City, and St. Louis (MO), exemplifies Houston's role as a key national drug distribution and money laundering center.
Very little drug production occurs in Houston because of the ready availability of drugs from Mexico; however, powder cocaine is converted to crack, cannabis is cultivated, and methamphetamine is produced to varying degrees. Significant amounts of powder cocaine are converted into crack cocaine within the city for local and regional consumption. Crack cocaine is often converted in crack houses, hotel rooms, and garages.
Cannabis cultivation is an increasing threat to the Houston HIDTA region, particularly in the Houston metropolitan area, where officials report that cannabis is cultivated indoors, outdoors, and hydroponically. More than 55 grow operations were dismantled in the Houston HIDTA region in 2006 and 2007 (the latest years for which data are available); most were located in Harris County and its surrounding areas (Fort Bend and Montgomery Counties). Cannabis cultivators typically locate grow sites in densely populated metropolitan areas of Houston; the sites range from simple, one-house grows to a network of multiple houses linked to one organization. In February 2009, law enforcement officers seized more than 100 cannabis plants from a home in Baytown (located east of Houston); the plants had been grown in several bedrooms in the home through the use of hydroponic equipment. More sophisticated hydroponic grow sites are generally operated by Vietnamese organizations; smaller, less sophisticated operations are generally run by Caucasian independent growers. Vietnamese cannabis cultivators in Houston have been linked by law enforcement officials to traffickers in California, Florida, Louisiana, Minnesota, Utah, and Washington as well as in Canada. Indoor cannabis cultivators realize higher profits because indoor cultivation is a year-round process that affords four to six harvests per year and the controlled conditions enable growers to produce high-quality marijuana, which commands higher prices in most drug markets. A pound of locally produced hydroponic marijuana usually sells for $4,000 to $5,000 per pound, compared with Mexican marijuana, which sells for $180 to $600 per pound. Most hydroponic marijuana grown in the HIDTA region is sold locally; some is also transported to other areas of Texas, such as Austin and Dallas, and to Louisiana for distribution.
Methamphetamine production was low and relatively stable in Harris County over the past few years. According to the El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC) National Seizure System (NSS), law enforcement officers in Harris County seized 2 laboratories in 2006, 3 laboratories in 2007, and 2 laboratories in 2008. (See Table 2.) The enactment of precursor chemical control laws in August 2005 greatly contributed to decreased methamphetamine production in the county. However, methamphetamine production does occur in Houston, with producers attempting to circumvent chemical control laws by using fraudulent identification to obtain pseudoephedrine through retailers, turning to new sources of supply for precursor chemicals, and employing alternative production methods.5
Table 2. Methamphetamine Laboratories Seized in the Houston HIDTA Region, by County,* 2006-2008
| HIDTA County | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Bend | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Galveston | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hardin | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Harris | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Jefferson | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Nueces | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Victoria | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Houston HIDTA Region | 5 | 7 | 2 |
Source: National Seizure System as of January 28, 2009.
*
HIDTA counties not listed reported no seized laboratories
from 2006 through 2008. NSS data are based on voluntary reporting and may not include
all laboratory seizures occurring in the Houston HIDTA region. These data represent
laboratory seizures only; they do not include chemical, equipment, or dumpsite seizures.
Houston is one of the most significant transshipment centers used by Mexican DTOs to facilitate drug distribution from the Southwest Border to major market areas throughout the United States. Mexican DTOs primarily use private and commercial vehicles on interstates and highways, particularly I-10 and U.S. Highway 59, to transport drugs to Houston. (See Figure 5.) U.S. Highway 59 extends directly from the Laredo POE to Houston and also connects with US 281 and US 77, which provide routes of travel from the McAllen and Brownsville areas. Interstate 10 provides access to the city from El Paso through San Antonio. Additionally, the proposed Trans-Texas Corridor, or I-69, which is expected to extend from Mexico to Canada, traversing the Houston area, will quite likely, upon its completion, be used by Mexican DTOs to smuggle drug shipments.
Figure 5. Houston HIDTA Region Transportation Infrastructure
Mexican DTOs also use couriers on buses and trains to transport illicit drugs to Houston. At least two Mexican-owned bus companies operate daily routes from Mexico through Houston to destinations in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Couriers on these buses transport cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine for distribution in these states; they also transport drug proceeds back to Mexico. Several rail systems operate in the Houston area, including Amtrak as well as the Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Union Pacific, Kansas City Southern, and Texas Mexican Railroads;6 however, the degree to which traffickers use these rail systems to transport drugs is an intelligence gap.
DTOs exploit air conveyances in Houston to transport illicit drugs to and from the HIDTA region. Law enforcement agencies occasionally seize illicit drugs and currency from passengers on domestic and international flights and from freight arriving at the George Bush Intercontinental (IAH) and William P. Hobby (HOU) Airports. (See text box.) The extensive passenger and cargo activity at these airports provides camouflage to traffickers smuggling illicit drugs. More than 52 million passengers and more than 391,000 metric tons (MT) of air cargo passed through these airports in 2008. Additionally, international carriers are increasingly initiating service at Houston's airports as a result of the city's economic growth. For example, nonstop flights from IAH to Doha, Qatar, began in March 2009, and daily nonstop flights to Frankfurt, Germany, will begin in November 2009. Additionally, in 2008, several Asian air cargo services began service to Houston, and nonstop passenger flights to the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, and Moscow, Russia, were also initiated. Such international service may expose Houston and the HIDTA region to an increased threat of air smuggling.
|
Airline Employee Charged With Narcotics Trafficking In October 2008 a federal grand jury indicted a baggage handler for conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine. The individual had been using his position and company flying privileges to smuggle cocaine and U.S. currency between Houston and Baltimore since 2001. In January 2008 the individual, who was carrying more than $79,000, was arrested after deplaning a flight from Baltimore at the William P. Hobby Airport in Houston. Two other individuals, one a Mexican national, were also charged and are believed to be the source of supply for the cocaine. Source: U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas. |
Maritime smuggling through the Port of Houston poses a viable threat to the HIDTA region--a threat that could increase in the long term. The amount of cargo traversing the Port of Houston has increased consecutively over the past 10 years, with more than 16 million tons of cargo moving through its facilities in 2007 (the latest data available). The Port of Houston also links the city with 1,053 ports in 203 countries; these links make the port vulnerable to drug smuggling. A vast network of interstate highways and railways link the Port of Houston to inland markets in the continental United States, Mexico, and Canada. Additionally, in February 2007 the Port of Houston opened the Bayport Container and Cruise Terminal, which is expected to triple the port's container-handling capacity when fully developed, enabling it to handle 2.3 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).7 A cruise ship terminal, which can accommodate as many as 1.7 million passengers, was also opened at the Bayport terminal in 2008. The increase in the number of containers processed through the port facilities and the addition of a large cruise ship terminal could enable DTOs to more easily smuggle illicit drug shipments using maritime methods.
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