National Drug Intelligence Center   West Texas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis 2009   March 2009   UNCLASSIFIED

Abuse

Illicit drug abuse in the West Texas HIDTA region takes place primarily in Ector, El Paso, and Midland Counties, where the largest population centers are located. Drug-related treatment admissions in the West Texas HIDTA decreased in all drug categories except for marijuana/hashish from 2006 through 2008. (See Table 5.) According to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), most drug-related treatment admissions to publicly funded facilities in the HIDTA region are in Ector, El Paso, and Midland Counties and are for cocaine. (See Table 5.) The scattered and sparse population in areas outside Ector, El Paso, and Midland Counties precludes collection of accurate information pertaining to drug abuse in other counties of the HIDTA region. However, Texas DSHS reporting does reveal that treatment admissions appear to be low in these counties; most have fewer than 10 reported treatment admissions each year.

Table 5. Number of Adult Drug-Related Treatment Admissions to Publicly Funded Facilities in the West Texas HIDTA Region, 2006-2008

Source: Texas Department of State Health Services.
* As a result of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act confidentiality requirements, treatment admissions with a frequency of less than 10 cannot be reported.
** West Texas HIDTA region totals have omitted admissions in any category with a frequency less than 10; therefore, totals are slightly higher than those represented.

To Top      To Contents

Illicit Finance

Bulk cash smuggling is the primary method used by traffickers to move drug proceeds from the West Texas HIDTA region to Mexico, as a result of the area's proximity to the border, the limited inspections of southbound traffic by U.S. and Mexican law enforcement officers, and the relative ease with which cash can be placed into Mexican financial systems. According to NDIC NDTS 2009 data, five of the six agencies report that bulk cash movement was used by wholesale-level traffickers in their area to launder drug proceeds; four of the agencies report that the level of use of this technique was high. It is difficult to assess the quantity of U.S. currency transported from market areas through the HIDTA region to Mexico as a result of the limited inspection of southbound traffic. However, seizure data indicate that large quantities, some totaling $1 million or more, are smuggled through the area. For example, in January 2008 the El Paso County Sheriff's Office seized approximately $1 million from a tractor-trailer during a routine traffic stop on I-10 in eastern El Paso County. Additionally, CBP agents conducting inbound and outbound inspection operations at POEs in the El Paso Office of Field Operations (OFO)8 seized over $2.7 million in unreported currency in fiscal year (FY) 2008--a notable increase compared with approximately $430,000 seized in FY2007.9 The largest seizure of undeclared currency in FY2008 occurred in February 2008 when officers working at the El Paso POE BOTA crossing intercepted an inbound vehicle with over $1.8 million secreted in its door panels and rear cargo door in denominations ranging from $5 to $100; this was the largest currency seizure at the POE in at least the past decade. When bulk cash is transported through the West Texas HIDTA region and smuggled across the Southwest Border, it is further processed in any of the following ways: individuals deposit the cash into banks and casas de cambio (exchange houses)10 in Mexico and electronically wire it back to the United States; complicit Mexican financial institutions repatriate the cash to the United States using cash couriers, armored cars, or deposits into correspondent accounts; smugglers transport the money to Venezuela, Panama, Costa Rica, or other Latin American countries, where it can be used to pay for goods--both legitimate and illicit--on the black market in Colombia; or individuals move the funds to offshore jurisdictions in which bank secrecy regulations are strict.11

Mexican DTOs operating in the West Texas HIDTA region also use traditional depository financial institutions (DFIs) and money services businesses (MSBs), such as money transmitters and casas de cambio located in the area, to launder drug proceeds within the HIDTA region, although to a much lesser extent. DFIs and MSBs are used to a much greater degree in Mexico, where bulk currency smuggled through West Texas into Mexico is processed and often sent back to the United States.

Footnotes

8. The El Paso Office of Field Operations encompasses the El Paso, Fabens, and Presidio POEs in Texas and the Columbus and Santa Teresa POEs in New Mexico.
9. Under federal law, individuals must declare currency or monetary instruments totaling $10,000 or more upon entry into or exit from the United States.
10. Because of strict Texas laws and their associated robust enforcement, DTOs use casas de cambio located in Mexico rather than in Texas to launder drug proceeds.
11. A correspondent account is established by a foreign bank at a financial institution in the United States in order to conduct business in the United States without maintaining a physical presence. This account is used to receive deposits from, make payments or other disbursements on behalf of, or handle other financial transactions related to the foreign bank.

End of page.