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

Production

Illicit drug production in the South Florida HIDTA region primarily involves cannabis cultivation and the conversion of powder cocaine to crack. Cannabis cultivation often takes place in private residences that cultivators rent or purchase throughout the region. Crack cocaine conversion takes place principally in public housing developments and inner-city areas where street gangs operate.

Most of the marijuana available in the South Florida HIDTA region is produced locally at indoor and, to a lesser extent, outdoor cannabis grow sites; marijuana available in the region is also produced in the Bahamas, Colombia, Jamaica, and Mexico.10 Indoor cannabis cultivation is prevalent throughout Florida, including in the South Florida HIDTA region. According to Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program (DCE/SP) data, 78,489 cultivated cannabis plants were eradicated from 1,022 indoor grow sites in Florida during 2008; approximately 38 percent of these plants (29,951) were eradicated in the South Florida HIDTA region. (See Table 2.) Most indoor grow sites are located in residences, rental houses, and apartments. The depressed housing market throughout Florida has resulted in increased home foreclosures, a circumstance that provides opportunities for DTOs to acquire bargain-priced properties that can be used to expand their indoor cannabis grow operations in the region. The controlled environment of indoor grow sites, combined with sophisticated growing techniques such as hydroponics, typically yields high-potency marijuana, which commands higher prices.11 For example, the wholesale price for commercial-grade marijuana in Miami was $650 per pound in 2008, while the wholesale price for hydroponic marijuana ranged from $2,500 to $4,000 per pound, according to the South Florida HIDTA. Moreover, indoor cannabis operations can be conducted year-round, yielding four to six harvests per year, compared with the two harvests per year that are typical for outdoor cultivation. South Florida HIDTA officials report that the number of indoor cannabis grow sites, particularly sites using hydroponic growing techniques, continues to increase despite extensive and coordinated federal, state, and local law enforcement efforts. For example, 17,542 plants were seized in 2005, whereas 29,951 plants were seized in 2008--an increase of 71 percent.

Table 2. Indoor Cannabis Cultivation Sites Seized and Plants Eradicated in South Florida HIDTA Counties, 2005-2008

Source: Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program.
* Monroe County did not participate in the program in 2006.

Various DTOs and criminal groups operate indoor cannabis cultivation sites in the South Florida HIDTA region; however, law enforcement reporting reveals that a large percentage is controlled by Cuban growers. Law enforcement reporting further reveals that Cuban growers have expanded their indoor cannabis operations to other parts of Florida as well as areas of the southeast, such as North Carolina. Moreover, law enforcement investigations reveal that over the past several years, indoor cannabis cultivation by Cuban growers has advanced from small grow sites to large, highly profitable operations. Cuban growers often recruit illegal immigrants of various races and ethnicities to live in residential grow sites to cultivate cannabis and to provide the appearance of typical activity in the home. Law enforcement officials report that some Cuban growers force illegal immigrants to reside at grow houses and oversee their operations as payment for their illegal passage into the United States, which is generally provided by Cuban criminal organizations affiliated with the growers.

Retail-level crack cocaine distributors, typically members of local street gangs, convert powder cocaine to crack near intended markets. The conversion and distribution of crack are serious concerns to law enforcement officials, as these activities are frequently associated with high levels of abuse and related property crime and violence. Local street gang members generally produce and distribute crack on an as-needed basis, typically in ounce quantities.

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Transportation

The South Florida HIDTA region is a principal U.S. arrival zone for cocaine and SA heroin; it is also a distribution center for powder cocaine, SA heroin, marijuana, and CPDs intended for distribution throughout the eastern United States. As such, traffickers use numerous methods and means of conveyance to transport illicit drugs into, through, and from the South Florida HIDTA region.

Figure 2. South Florida HIDTA Transportation Infrastructure

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The South Florida HIDTA region's highly developed transportation infrastructure is routinely exploited by drug traffickers to transport illicit drugs into, through, and from the South Florida HIDTA region; traffickers often conceal significant amounts of illicit drugs in hidden compartments or in shipments of legitimate goods. The most common method of transportation is the use of private and commercial vehicles on I-75 and I-95. For instance, Mexican DTOs transport large quantities of powder cocaine, heroin, Mexican commercial-grade marijuana, and Mexican ice methamphetamine into the region, principally the West Palm Beach area, from Atlanta and Southwest Border states using private and commercial vehicles on I-75 and I-95; these DTOs also transport drug proceeds back to the Southwest Border using the same means. Traffickers often transport illicit drugs from the South Florida HIDTA region to drug markets in Atlanta and Detroit, Michigan, using I-75 and to Baltimore, Maryland; New Jersey; New York City; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, using I-95.

Traffickers transport large amounts of illicit drugs, particularly powder cocaine, marijuana, and SA heroin, into and from the South Florida HIDTA region on commercial flights transiting the Miami International Airport and the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. NSS data show law enforcement drug seizures at the Miami and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood airports as follows (in kilograms): 358.41 cocaine, 300 CPDs, 184.57 khat, 165.61 marijuana, 64.24 heroin, and 30.39 methamphetamine. The majority of these drugs were seized at the Miami airport.

A number of traffickers transport cocaine, SA heroin, marijuana, and MDMA into the region using maritime means such as container ships, cruise ships, commercial fishing vessels, and recreation vessels. For example, in February 2009, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized 3,428 pounds of marijuana concealed in a maritime cargo container that arrived in Miami from Kingston, Jamaica. The cargo container had been selected for a routine examination when an anomaly was detected by the cargo X-ray scanner. A drug-detection canine, which was brought to the cargo container, alerted on the container doors; a subsequent inspection revealed the marijuana. The vessel began its journey in Australia, but officers suspect that the marijuana was most likely placed in the container during a stop in Kingston.

Traffickers and some abusers transport illicit drugs, including marijuana, methamphetamine, and CPDs, into and from the South Florida HIDTA region using the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and package delivery services. According to NSS data, in 2008, law enforcement officials seized more than 1,087 kilograms of marijuana, 462 kilograms of CPDs, 193 kilograms of powder cocaine, and 13 kilograms of heroin from intercepted mail parcels in the South Florida HIDTA region. Most of the packages were addressed to potential distributors and abusers elsewhere in Florida and in eastern drug markets, including those in the District of Columbia, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia. Some of the packages were addressed to recipients in California, Illinois, and Kansas, as well as Canada. Traffickers also use USPS and package delivery services to transport illicit drug proceeds from the region to their sources of supply.

Footnotes

10. According to Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program (DCE/SP) data, seven cultivated plants were eradicated from one outdoor plot in the South Florida HIDTA region in 2008, and 16,211 cultivated plants were eradicated from 299 outdoor plots in Florida that year.
11. According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) quantifications of marijuana samples submitted to the University of Mississippi Potency Monitoring Project by federal, state, and local law enforcement officials in 2008 (the latest year for which such data are available) indicate that marijuana produced in Florida had an average THC content of 7.75 percent; DEA Miami Division submitted samples with one of the highest THC levels in the state that year (16.72%).

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