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U.S. Department of Justice
National Drug Intelligence Center
Lake County HIDTA Drug Market Analysis 2010
April 2010
Mexican traffickers dominate the wholesale and midlevel distribution of most illicit drugs in Lake County. They typically supply drugs to street gang members, the predominant retail-level distributors in the region, and to African American, Caucasian, and Hispanic traffickers. Most midlevel and retail-level drug distribution in the region occurs at open air drug markets and private residences.
Street gangs control most retail-level drug distribution in the Lake County HIDTA region, particularly in East Chicago, Gary, and Hammond. Chicago-based street gangs, such as Gangster Disciples, Latin Kings, and Vice Lords, dominate retail drug distribution in the region. Members of local street gangs, who frequently make temporary alliances with national-level gangs, also distribute drugs in the region.
Other traffickers distribute illicit drugs at the midlevel and retail level in the Lake County HIDTA region. Caucasian traffickers distribute most of the high-potency marijuana and methamphetamine available in the region, and they also distribute commercial-grade marijuana. OMG members distribute methamphetamine and commercial-grade marijuana. Vietnamese traffickers and, increasingly, African American traffickers in Gary distribute MDMA. In addition, law enforcement officials report that poor economic conditions in the region have led to an increasing number of women and first-time offenders distributing illicit drugs at the retail level.
While some local gang leaders have discouraged members from committing violent acts to intimidate others or enforce territorial boundaries, violence often results from disputes among street gang members over drug distribution territories or during drug and money rip-offs by dealers or buyers. Street gang members increasingly seek firearms and ammunition capable of penetrating body armor and routinely carry handguns during retail drug distribution. The HIDTA's Firearms Interdiction Regional Enforcement initiative reports that most firearms trafficking operations investigated in 2009 were drug- or gang-related. Moreover, street gang members often purchase firearms from retailers in Lake County that they later sell to criminal associates in Chicago and other areas of the Great Lakes Region.
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