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

Production

Drug production in the HIDTA region is limited because of the ready supply of drugs smuggled into the area from Mexico by Mexican traffickers. Powder methamphetamine production is limited in West Texas because of a lack of demand for the drug in most areas of the HIDTA region; moreover, available supplies of Mexican methamphetamine satiate local demand. According to NDIC NDTS 2009 data, five of the six responding agencies report that the level of methamphetamine production was low in their jurisdiction. According to the El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC) National Seizure System (NSS), only 10 methamphetamine laboratories were seized from 2006 through 2008; all were located in Ector (8), El Paso (1), and Midland (1) counties. Only small amounts of methamphetamine were produced at seized laboratories, and most of the drug was intended for personal use by the laboratory operators or for distribution in small networks.

Cannabis cultivation, both indoor and outdoor, is limited in the West Texas HIDTA region as a result of the wide availability of Mexican marijuana. According to NDIC NDTS 2009 data, five of the six responding agencies report that cannabis is not cultivated in their areas. Indoor cannabis grows are virtually nonexistent in the region. The terrain in West Texas is not conducive to outdoor cannabis cultivation, except along the Rio Grande River in Big Bend National Park. Large outdoor cannabis grows have previously been seized in Big Bend National Park; however, no large grows have been seized there since 2003.

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Transportation

Mexican DTOs smuggle multiton shipments of marijuana and multikilogram quantities of cocaine into the West Texas HIDTA region for transshipment to drug markets throughout the United States; some is distributed in the region. Mexican DTOs also smuggle heroin and methamphetamine into and through the area, but to a much lesser extent. Marijuana, methamphetamine, and heroin are generally transported from production sites in Mexico to warehouses and stash houses on the Mexico side of the U.S.-Mexico border for staging prior to being smuggled into the United States. Cocaine, which is obtained by Mexican DTOs from Colombian DTOs in South America, is transported through Mexico to these same staging areas. The Mexican DTOs that transport illicit drugs to staging areas in Mexico typically contract with other Mexican organizations to transport the drugs from the staging areas into the West Texas HIDTA region, where the drugs typically are consolidated and stored in stash houses for later transportation to drug markets throughout the United States. Mexican DTOs commonly employ independent transportation brokers to facilitate the movement of drug shipments across the U.S.-Mexico border and into and through the West Texas HIDTA region. These brokers help to further insulate DTOs from law enforcement.

Gatekeepers5 regulate the drug flow from Mexico across the U.S.-Mexico border into the United States by controlling drug smugglers' access to areas along the border. Gatekeepers collect "taxes" from smugglers on all illicit shipments, including drugs and illegal aliens, moved through these areas. The taxes are generally paid to the DTO that controls the area; the DTO then launders the tax proceeds. Gatekeepers sometimes resort to extortion, intimidation, and acts of violence to collect taxes from smugglers. Gatekeepers also reportedly bribe corrupt Mexican police and military personnel in order to ensure that smuggling activities can proceed without interruption.

The West Texas HIDTA region's geographic location, large amount of cross-border traffic, and highway infrastructure make it a significant entry point for drugs along the Southwest Border. The West Texas HIDTA region is located in the center of the Southwest Border, making it accessible to eastern and western markets through its highway infrastructure. Further, the El Paso, Fabens, and Presidio POEs are located in the region. These POEs, particularly the El Paso POE (the second-busiest for commercial traffic after Laredo), are extensively used by traffickers to smuggle drug shipments into the HIDTA region. Traffickers use private and commercial vehicles and couriers on foot to transport drug shipments into the United States. They also use various concealment methods, including commingling the drugs with legitimate cargo; secreting drugs in hidden compartments; and/or hiding drugs in luggage, purses, or other personal items to transport illicit drugs through POEs in the HIDTA region. (See text box.) Additionally, the geographic layout of highways and checkpoints gives traffickers more options to move their drug shipments undetected, unlike some other areas of the border. For example, the Kingsville/Sarita checkpoint on U.S. Highway 77 and the Falfurrias checkpoint on US 281 in south Texas are strategically located to funnel all northbound traffic entering the United States from approximately Roma to Brownsville, making it difficult for traffickers to bypass these checkpoints. Conversely, the Sierra Blanca checkpoint on I-10 in the HIDTA region is less effective at funneling drug shipments coming across the border to one area, giving traffickers numerous other possible routes to transport their shipments.

Mexican DTOs also transport illicit drugs, primarily marijuana, between POEs, particularly in the eastern portion of the West Texas HIDTA region, but to a lesser extent. Drug traffickers take advantage of the sparse population, relatively open border, and rugged terrain to conceal their drug smuggling activities. Couriers smuggle significant quantities of illicit drugs into the area at numerous low-water crossings, using vehicles, horses, and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). They also cross on foot. The number and remoteness of the crossings make it difficult for law enforcement agencies to effectively monitor these activities.

In addition to overland smuggling, Mexican DTOs use private aircraft to smuggle illicit drugs into the area, but to a much lesser extent than land conveyance methods. The financial resources of Mexican DTOs and their ability to adapt their trafficking operations to avoid law enforcement detection render this mode of transportation a potentially significant vulnerability for the West Texas HIDTA region. Dirt roads, dry lake beds, and other flat terrain on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border are particularly useful to traffickers as makeshift landing strips. Traffickers use makeshift strips in northern Mexico to offload and store illicit drugs near the border pending transportation into the region; they also use strips on the U.S. side of the border to fly directly into the HIDTA region, employing low-level flights to avoid radar detection.6

Big Bend National Park, which shares a 118-mile-long border with Mexico, is vulnerable to drug and alien smuggling. As with other areas between POEs along the U.S.-Mexico border in West Texas, limited law enforcement presence and rugged terrain make the park conducive to smuggling activities. National Park Service (NPS) officials report that Mexican DTOs commonly transport large shipments of drugs, primarily marijuana, through the park. In 2002 CBP closed the Boquillas Crossing in Big Bend National Park. Currently, no official POEs exist along the park's border with Mexico; however, many areas along the Rio Grande River are routinely traversed by traffickers and illegal aliens. Smuggling activities in this area also pose a potential threat to park visitors, particularly those who inadvertently encounter a smuggling operation in progress.

Footnotes

5. Gatekeepers are smuggling organizations that oversee the transportation of drugs into the United States from Mexico. Gatekeepers generally operate at the behest of a Mexican DTO and enforce the will of the organization through bribery, intimidation, extortion, beatings, and murder.
6. The Air and Marine Interdiction Coordination Center (AMICC), which uses radar to track aircraft approaching the U.S.-Mexico border, reports that aircraft often fade from radar near the border and appear to land at airports, airfields, and remote locations in Mexico. Many "fades" are indicative of traffickers' moving drugs to locations near the border and offloading the shipments overland into the United States.

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