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

Production

Illicit drug production in the Ohio HIDTA region primarily involves the conversion of powder cocaine into crack, cannabis cultivation, and limited, small-scale methamphetamine production. Large amounts of powder cocaine are converted to crack by African American criminal groups and street gangs, typically at or near local distribution sites in the region. However, African American criminal groups that operate in Columbus reportedly transport crack cocaine to Fairfield County.

Cannabis is cultivated in the Ohio HIDTA region at both indoor and outdoor grow sites; however, indoor grow sites are more common. Most indoor cultivation in the HIDTA region is conducted by local Caucasian marijuana producers and typically takes place in private residences; however, grow operations occasionally are discovered in other locations such as outbuildings and warehouses. (See text box.) Law enforcement officials in the HIDTA region report that most indoor cannabis grows are hydroponic, employing watering, ventilation, and lighting systems to support the production of high-potency marijuana. Producers in the region often order cannabis grow equipment, supplies, and growing instructions over the Internet. For example, the Fairfield/Hocking Major Crimes Unit dismantled an indoor cannabis grow operated by an individual who ordered seeds through the Internet from Amsterdam, Netherlands. Outdoor cannabis grow site operators occasionally use techniques designed to prevent detection by law enforcement, including planting several small plots rather than a single large site.

Methamphetamine production in the HIDTA region has declined significantly since peaking in 2005, the result of statewide precursor chemical control legislation, aggressive law enforcement efforts, and public awareness campaigns. This decline is evidenced by National Seizure System (NSS) data that reveal a significant decrease in the number of methamphetamine laboratories seized by law enforcement officials in the HIDTA region between 2005 (69) and 2008 (39). (See Table 2.) Most of the methamphetamine laboratory seizures in the HIDTA region take place in Summit County. The Akron/Summit County Drug Task Force reports that methamphetamine producers in Summit County have circumvented local precursor controls by having multiple individuals buy pseudoephedrine at or below the legal limit from various locations (a practice known as smurfing) and then deliver it to the producers, who often pay twice the retail value for the pseudoephedrine.

Source: National Seizure System, data run on March 24, 2009.

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Transportation

The extensive interstate highway system in Ohio is routinely exploited by traffickers to transport drugs into and throughout the HIDTA region in private and commercial vehicles. Traffickers primarily use north-south highways such as Interstates 71, 75, and 77 and east-west highways such as Interstates 70 and 80/90 to transport illicit drugs from distribution centers along the Southwest Border. (See Figure 2.) Additionally, traffickers often conceal drug shipments in hidden compartments in private and commercial vehicles in an attempt to avoid detection by law enforcement officials. For example, in September 2008 the Greene County Agencies for Combined Enforcement discovered a hidden compartment in a vehicle after two small magnets were discovered on one of the suspects; the magnets were used to trigger the door of a hidden compartment. Traffickers operating in the HIDTA region also use couriers on commercial airlines and package delivery services to transport illicit drugs to the area.

Figure 2. Ohio HIDTA Region Transportation Infrastructure

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Mexican DTOs are the primary transporters of illicit drugs into the Ohio HIDTA region; they generally transport wholesale quantities of cocaine, marijuana, Mexican black tar heroin and brown powder heroin and, occasionally, limited amounts of ice methamphetamine. Mexican traffickers are increasingly transporting cocaine and marijuana directly from locations along the Southwest Border to Akron, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Toledo, and Youngstown rather than through major drug distribution centers such as Chicago and Detroit, as in previous years. They have also increased the amount of Mexican heroin that they are transporting into the HIDTA region, particularly to Columbus and Dayton. Mexican traffickers operating in Columbus typically transport small amounts of heroin in each shipment in contrast to the larger quantities of cocaine and marijuana that they transport. Law enforcement officials believe that Mexican traffickers use smaller heroin shipments to avoid the possibility of large losses in the event that shipments are seized by law enforcement.

Dominican, Puerto Rican, Jamaican, and Somali traffickers also transport various drugs into the HIDTA region. Dominican and Puerto Rican DTOs and criminal groups primarily transport SA heroin and cocaine, while Jamaican DTOs transport marijuana. These DTOs and criminal groups transport drugs principally to northeastern Ohio HIDTA markets from New York City, Chicago, and Detroit, using private vehicles. Somali criminal groups transport wholesale quantities of khat into the Columbus area for local consumption, predominantly within the city's Somali community. These groups previously used package delivery services to ship khat into the city; however, law enforcement reporting indicates that they are now also transporting the drug into the area from New York City, primarily in private vehicles.

Traffickers also transport illicit drugs into the Ohio HIDTA region using couriers on commercial flights, package delivery services, and the mail; however, traffickers use these methods less often than overland transportation and generally only for smaller quantities of drugs. Traffickers use package delivery services to ship illicit drugs, primarily marijuana, MDMA, khat, and CPDs, to distributors and abusers in the HIDTA region. Moreover, traffickers have reportedly used package delivery services to ship CPDs and MDMA to abusers who purchased the drugs from the traffickers over the Internet. Additionally, the Akron/Summit County Drug Task Force recently identified two individuals operating in the HIDTA region who offered methamphetamine precursor chemicals for sale on the Internet; the individuals mailed chemicals to locations throughout the United States. (See text box.)

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