U.S. Department of Justice
National Drug Intelligence Center

Title:

Philadelphia/Camden High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis 2010

Publication Date: April 2010

Document ID: 2010-R0813-027

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. Philadelphia/Camden High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area

List of Tables

Table 1. Drug Seizures in the Philadelphia/Camden HIDTA, in Kilograms, 2009
Table 2. Drug Distribution Activities in the Philadelphia/Camden HIDTA, 2009

Strategic Drug Threat Developments

Cocaine (particularly crack) poses the principal drug threat in the Philadelphia/Camden High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (PC HIDTA) region because of high levels of abuse and the violence attendant to street gang distribution of the drug. Heroin, marijuana, and controlled prescription drugs (CPDs) are also significant threats to the region.

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

• Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) are expanding their drug trafficking operations in the HIDTA region, and as a result, the direct influence of New York City-based Colombian DTOs in the region has diminished significantly. The influence of Dominican traffickers is also growing because they have strengthened their associations with Mexican DTOs operating both in the region and along the Southwest Border.
   
• Hispanic and African American street gangs are expanding their retail-level drug distribution activities from urban areas to suburban and rural areas of the HIDTA region. Street gangs are vying with other gangs and local independent groups for these new distribution territories, leading to increased violence.
   
• Heroin abuse is increasing in suburban and rural areas of the region, especially among teens and young adults. Availability of the drug has been elevated by increased heroin distribution by street gangs coupled with cocaine shortages in these areas that have caused some cocaine distributors to begin selling heroin.
   
• The New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act, which permits the use of medical marijuana for qualifying patients, became law in January 2010. Conflicting federal and state laws regarding medical marijuana will complicate law enforcement efforts targeting marijuana trafficking in the HIDTA region. States with similar laws have experienced increases in illegal indoor growing operations and confusion regarding federal and state laws.
   
• CPDs are abused by an increasing number of teenagers and young adults in the PC HIDTA region. One or more of these drugsa were found in more than 73 percent of decedents for whom toxicology screens indicated drug-positive results in the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area in 2008 (the latest available data).

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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

Footnote

a. Benzodiazepines, hydrocodone, fentanyl, methadone, and oxycodone.

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