U.S. Department of Justice
National Drug Intelligence Center

Title:

Central Valley California High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis 2010

Publication Date: June 2010

Document ID: 2010-R0813-007

Archived on: August 1, 2011. This document may contain dated information. It remains available to provide access to historical materials.

This assessment is an outgrowth of a partnership between the NDIC and HIDTA Program for preparation of annual assessments depicting drug trafficking trends and developments in HIDTA Program areas. The report has been coordinated with the HIDTA, is limited in scope to HIDTA jurisdictional boundaries, and draws upon a wide variety of sources within those boundaries.

Your questions, comments, and suggestions for future subjects are welcome at any time. Addresses are provided at the end of the page.

Contents

List of Figures

Figure 1. Central Valley California High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area
Figure 2. Cannabis Plants Eradicated in the Central Valley HIDTA, by County, 2009
Figure 3. Armed Cannabis Growers in Fresno County
Figure 4. Central Valley California HIDTA Drug Treatment Admissions, 2004-2009

List of Tables

Table 1. Central Valley HIDTA Initiative Seizures by Drug, in Kilograms, 2008-2009
Table 2. Methamphetamine Clandestine Laboratory Removals in Central Valley HIDTA Counties, 2005-2009

List of Tables in Appendix A

Table A1. Cannabis Plants Seized in the Central Valley HIDTA Region, 2005-2009
Table A2. Top-Ranking States for the Number of Cannabis Plants Eradicated, 2005-2009

Strategic Drug Threat Developments

The Central Valley High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) region is the principal area in the nation for large-scale production of ice methamphetamine and a significant area for illegal cannabis cultivation operations. It is a national-level distribution and transshipment area for multikilogram quantities of methamphetamine, marijuana, and cocaine and lesser quantities of heroin and MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, also known as ecstasy) intended for drug markets throughout the United States. Large-scale methamphetamine and marijuana production and the Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) that control these operations pose the most significant drug threats in the region.

The following are strategic drug threat developments in the Central Valley HIDTA region:

• Mexican DTOs and criminal groups are conducting well-organized, large-scale smurfing operationsa to acquire the necessary pseudoephedrine to sustain major methamphetamine production efforts in the region. Law enforcement operations and pseudoephedrine control legislation have forced these smurfing operations to extend beyond the HIDTA region into southern California and Arizona.
   
• Illegal cannabis cultivation operations are increasing throughout the Central Valley HIDTA region, particularly in Fresno, Shasta, and Tulare Counties. This situation is driven by the growing demand for high-potency marijuana, high levels of abuse, and the continued exploitation of California's medical marijuana laws by illegal marijuana producers and drug traffickers.
   
• Cocaine availability has increased in some areas of the region, primarily Fresno, Modesto, Sacramento, and Stockton, as evidenced by declining wholesale prices and rising seizures. Seizures of cocaine by HIDTA initiatives increased 111 percent from 2008 through 2009.

To Top      To Contents

Addresses

Web Addresses

ADNET:  http://ndicosa.adnet.sgov.gov
DOJ:  http://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/
LEO:  https://www.leo.gov/http://leowcs.leopriv.gov/lesig/archive/ndic/index.htm
RISS:  ndic.riss.net

Questions and comments may be directed to Pacific/West Central Unit, Regional Threat Analysis Branch through NDIC.Contacts@usdoj.gov.

Footnote

a. Pseudoephedrine smurfing is a method used by some methamphetamine traffickers to acquire large quantities of precursor chemicals. Methamphetamine producers purchase the chemicals in quantities at or below legal thresholds from multiple retail locations, often enlisting the homeless to increase the speed of the operation and the quantity of chemicals acquired.

End of page.