National Drug Intelligence Center   Ohio High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis 2009   April 2009

Distribution

Mexican DTOs are the primary wholesale distributors of cocaine, marijuana, and heroin in the Ohio HIDTA region; they have significantly increased the amount of Mexican heroin that they distribute throughout the region. For example, Mexican DTOs have increased their distribution of Mexican black tar heroin and brown powder heroin in northern Ohio markets, including Cleveland, Youngstown, and Summit and Stark Counties, resulting in a significant increase in heroin availability. Mexican DTOs also engage in limited retail drug distribution in Columbus, where they control the distribution of Mexican heroin at all levels.

Columbus and Dayton have emerged as regional drug distribution centers, particularly for Mexican black tar heroin and brown powder heroin that is supplied from these cities to markets throughout Ohio and neighboring states. Columbus is a distribution center for Mexican heroin supplied to markets throughout much of Ohio as well as in West Virginia and western Pennsylvania. Additionally, distributors from other markets often travel to Columbus to purchase Mexican heroin to sell in their home areas. For instance, some heroin distributors in adjoining Fairfield County travel to Columbus several times each day to purchase retail quantities of heroin. Furthermore, Columbus serves as a distribution center for powder and crack cocaine supplied from Columbus to surrounding areas and to West Virginia. Distributors from Columbus typically travel to these other areas to distribute the drugs; however, distributors and abusers occasionally travel to Columbus to purchase the drugs to sell in their home areas. Dayton serves as a source of supply for heroin available in southwestern Ohio markets, including the city of Cincinnati and Greene and Warren Counties, as well as in markets outside the HIDTA region, including the city of Troy, Mercer and Preble Counties, and nearby Indiana cities such as Richmond. As in Columbus, distributors and abusers from other markets in and outside the HIDTA region often travel to Dayton to purchase small amounts of Mexican heroin to sell in their home areas.

Dominican and Jamaican DTOs also distribute illicit drugs at the wholesale level, principally in northeastern counties of the HIDTA region. Dominican DTOs are the principal wholesale distributors of SA heroin in Cleveland and Youngstown, while Jamaican DTOs distribute marijuana and cocaine in Cleveland and marijuana in Akron and Youngstown. Jamaican DTOs are also active in marijuana distribution in some southern HIDTA markets, including Cincinnati and Warren County. Northern Ohio Law Enforcement Task Force officials report that Jamaican drug distributors in Cleveland often use abandoned houses as stash locations. These distributors typically obtain between 500 and 1,000 pounds of marijuana at a time, divide the shipment into smaller amounts, and distribute it within 1 or 2 days. In an attempt to circumvent law enforcement detection, these groups often identify several abandoned houses and decide which one to use shortly before a shipment of marijuana arrives.

African American criminal groups and street gangs are the primary retail-level distributors of crack cocaine and marijuana, particularly in urban areas of the Ohio HIDTA region; they are typically supplied by Mexican DTOs. African American criminal groups and street gangs also distribute retail quantities of heroin, powder cocaine, and PCP to varying degrees throughout the HIDTA region. African American street gangs in Cleveland and Columbus are increasing their distribution of MDMA. Most of these street gangs distribute MDMA along with crack cocaine; however, some Cleveland gangs have switched from selling crack cocaine to exclusively distributing MDMA. According to recent law enforcement reporting, African American drug distributors in Cincinnati are also selling wholesale quantities of MDMA that they obtain from sources in Detroit.

Various other groups and independent dealers also serve as retail-level drug distributors in the region. Puerto Rican criminal groups are the primary retail-level distributors of SA heroin in Mahoning County; they typically are supplied by Dominican DTOs based in New York City. Hispanic street gangs are active in Columbus, where they distribute cocaine and limited amounts of Mexican ice methamphetamine; they have also emerged as retail-level MDMA distributors. Caucasian independent dealers are the principal distributors of MDMA and CPDs throughout the HIDTA region. CPDs are diverted by distributors and abusers through various methods, including prescription fraud, doctor-shopping, theft, pharmacy robberies, and unscrupulous physicians. (See text box.)

Drug distributors in the Ohio HIDTA region use a variety of communication methods to support their criminal activities. The most common method is the use of cell phones, both subscriber and prepaid. Law enforcement officials report that street gangs in the region are increasingly using prepaid phones because they provide anonymity and can be discarded and replaced routinely on account of their low cost. Distributors in the region often use cell phones to negotiate transactions and prearrange meetings with customers. South Central Drug Task Force officials in Columbus report that customers there typically call distributors to arrange a meeting place to purchase drugs. Northern Ohio Law Enforcement Task Force officials indicate that Mexican wholesale distributors in Cleveland are increasingly using the text messaging function of cell phones to conduct drug transactions. Drug distributors in the region, particularly street gangs, also use the push-to-talk feature of cell phones and two-way radios to conduct drug activity. Street gang members typically use two-way radios that have a range of 2 to 3 miles and have several frequencies that they switch between in an effort to avoid law enforcement detection. Furthermore, street gang members, particularly those in their teens and early twenties, use social networking sites on the Internet to communicate and post pictures of their gang-related activities.

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Drug-Related Crime

Law enforcement reporting indicates that cocaine, particularly crack, is the drug that most contributes to violent crime and property crime in the Ohio HIDTA region. According to the NDTS 2009, 71 of the 103 state and local law enforcement respondents in the Ohio HIDTA region identify either crack or powder cocaine as the drug most associated with violent crime. Additionally, 60 of the 103 respondents identify crack or powder cocaine as the drug most associated with property crime. Crack cocaine distributors commit assaults and homicides to protect drug supplies and distribution territories, while abusers are often involved in shoplifting, robbery, and theft to support their addictions. Heroin abusers also contribute significantly to crime in the region by engaging in shoplifting, identity theft, and burglary to support their addictions. Several law enforcement agencies in the HIDTA region report an increase in "rip-offs" of drug distributors. For example, officials in Columbus report that home invasion robberies involving the theft of drugs or illicit drug proceeds are increasing in the city. Furthermore, law enforcement officials in Cleveland believe that there has been an increase in cocaine distributors' stealing both drugs and drug proceeds from each other because of decreased cocaine availability in the city.

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