U.S. Department of Justice
National Drug Intelligence Center

Title:

Los Angeles High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis 2010

Publication Date: May 2010

Document ID: 2010-R0813-013

Archived on: September 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. Los Angeles High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area
Figure 2. Greatest Drug Threat in the Los Angeles HIDTA Region as Reported by State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies by Number of Respondents

List of Tables

Table 1. Illicit Drugs Seized in the Los Angeles HIDTA Region, in Kilograms, 2005-2009
Table 2. Small, Major, and Super Methamphetamine Laboratory Seizures in the Los Angeles HIDTA Region, 2006-2009
Table 3. Indoor and Outdoor Cannabis Plants Seized in the Los Angeles HIDTA Region, 2008-2009
Table 4. PCP Laboratory Seizures in the Los Angeles HIDTA Region by County, 2005-2009
Table 5. Treatment Admissions in the Los Angeles HIDTA Region, by Primary Drug of Admittance, 2007-2009

Strategic Drug Threat Developments

The Los Angeles High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) region is a national-level transportation and distribution center for multiton quantities of cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana and lesser quantities of heroin, PCP (phencyclidine), and MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, also known as ecstasy). Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) that dominate wholesale illicit drug distribution pose the greatest organizational threat in the region. Violent street gangs are the primary retail-level distributors in the region and pose a major public safety concern to law enforcement. Nearly half of the 700 murders committed in Los Angeles in 2008 and 2009 were reportedly gang-involved.

The distribution and abuse of methamphetamine, followed by cocaine, marijuana, and heroin, are the primary drug threats in the Los Angeles HIDTA region. Additionally, traffickers transport illicit drug proceeds generated throughout the rest of the United States to the region for consolidation. The proceeds are then physically or electronically sent to Mexico to be laundered.

The following are significant strategic drug threat developments in the Los Angeles HIDTA region:

• Mexican ice methamphetamine availability in the region has increased as a result of rising production in Mexico in 2009. Increased methamphetamine availability in the Los Angeles HIDTA region led to lower wholesale prices and a decline in local methamphetamine production. Methamphetamine availability in the HIDTA region is expected to further increase if Mexican producers can continue to circumvent restrictions on precursor chemicals required for methamphetamine production by smuggling ephedrine and pseudoephedrine into Mexico from Asian and South American countries.
   
• Wholesale cocaine availability has increased significantly in the region, easing the shortages that traffickers experienced in 2007 and 2008. Higher cocaine availability is expected to translate into lower wholesale cocaine prices in the near term.
   
• The number of seized indoor cannabis plants that yield high-potency marijuana increased 703 percent from 2008 to 2009. During the same time period, outdoor cannabis plant seizures decreased by 64 percent. The availability of commercial-grade Mexican marijuana and locally produced high-potency marijuana is expected to remain at high levels in the region.
   
• Mexican black tar heroin and brown powder heroin availability increased significantly in 2009, as indicated by lower wholesale prices and a 137 percent increase in heroin seizures from 2008 to 2009. Rising heroin availability in the Los Angeles HIDTA region is expected to result in increased heroin treatment admissions and overdoses.

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Addresses

Web Addresses

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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

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