(U) New England HIDTA Drug Market Analysis 2010 (UNCLASSIFIED)

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.

List of Figures

Figure 1. New England High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area
Figure 2. Greatest Drug Threat to the New England HIDTA Region as Reported by State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, by Number of Respondents
Figure 3. Drug-Related Treatment Admissions to Publicly Funded Facilities in New England, 2004-2008
Figure 4. Number of Suspicious Activity Reports Filed in New England, by Type, 2004-2008

List of Tables

Table 1. Drug Seizures in the New England HIDTA Region, 2009
Table 2. Cannabis Plants Eradicated at Indoor and Outdoor Cultivation Sites in the New England HIDTA Region, 2005-2009
Table 3. Drug-Related Deaths in New England States

List of Maps in Appendix A

Map A1. Opioid Deaths in Connecticut, by County, 2009
Map A2. Opioid Deaths in Massachusetts, by County, 2007
Map A3. Opioid Deaths in New Hampshire, by County, 2009
Map A4. Opioid Deaths in Vermont, by County, 2009

Strategic Drug Threat Developments

Opioid abuse (particularly the abuse of South American (SA) heroin and diverted controlled prescription opioids) is the primary drug concern in the New England High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (NE HIDTA) region. Opioid abuse is associated with high levels of violent crime and property crime and accounts for 70 percent of all illicit drug-related treatment admissions and the majority of poison center hotline calls, hospital visits, and drug-related deaths in the region.

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

Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) have increased their operations in the NE HIDTA region and are now significant wholesale suppliers of SA heroin, cocaine, and marijuana, which they transport directly from their sources of supply in Atlanta, Georgia; Houston and Dallas, Texas; and the Southwest Border area to New England.
Cocaine is readily available in the region; wholesale prices in most areas are elevated compared with those reported prior to cocaine shortages that occurred in New England in 2007.
Violence among street gangs is increasing in the NE HIDTA region, particularly violence associated with disputes over drug territories. Street gangs are expanding their drug distribution operations into rural and suburban areas.
Illicit drug abusers in the NE HIDTA region are unwittingly being exposed to illicit substances that they do not intend to ingest, primarily through their use of synthetic drug tablets/capsules (often represented as MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, also known as ecstasy)), which are increasingly available in the region. The harmful adulterant levamisole has also been identified in cocaine samples from the region.

Addresses

National Drug Intelligence Center
319 Washington Street, 5th Floor
Johnstown, PA 15901-1622

Tel. (814) 532-4601
FAX (814) 532-4690
E-mail NDIC.Contacts@usdoj.gov

Office of Policy and Interagency Affairs
U.S. Department of Justice
Robert F. Kennedy Building, Room 3341
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20530-2000

Telephone: (202) 532-4040
FAX (202) 514-4252

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 New England/New York/New Jersey Unit, Regional Threat Analysis Branch through NDIC.Contacts@usdoj.gov.

Title:

New England High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis 2010

Publication Date: June 2010

Document ID: 2010-R0813-018