To Contents
To Previous Page To Next Page
To Publication Page
To Home Page
ARCHIVED
To Contents
To Previous Page To Next Page
To Publication Page
To Home Page
|
National Drug
Intelligence Center Illinois Drug Threat Assessment January 2001 MethamphetamineMethamphetamine production and abuse are spreading to rural areas in the Southern and Central Districts of Illinois from bordering states such as Missouri, Iowa, and Indiana. Methamphetamine is growing in popularity because it has a lower cost and longer euphoric effect than crack cocaine. Methamphetamine abuse is not common in the Chicago area. Methamphetamine production is a serious safety and environmental concern in Illinois. (See Appendix for responses to the NDIC National Drug Threat Survey 2000.) Mexican DTOs transport methamphetamine into Illinois from California and other Southwest Border states. AbuseMethamphetamine abuse is increasing throughout rural areas of Illinois. Law enforcement agencies in the Central and Southern Districts of Illinois report that methamphetamine abuse is on the rise. Methamphetamine abuse is highest in the Central and Southern Districts of the state, according to the Illinois OASA. Methamphetamine's lower cost and longer euphoric effect have attracted some crack users, adding to the user population. Young people, also attracted to the drug's euphoric effects, are increasingly using methamphetamine at rave parties. Methamphetamine abuse is not common in the Chicago area. Indicators for Chicago showed no substantial increases in the availability and abuse of methamphetamine through the beginning of 2000. Chicago area law enforcement believes that the relative scarcity of methamphetamine in the area is a result of the abundance of cocaine. Methamphetamine may not have affected Chicago drug markets severely because African-American street gangs are more entrenched in the crack markets in their communities. Only two small pockets of methamphetamine abusers have been identified in the Chicago area since 1998, one on the North Side and the other near the Indiana state line. AvailabilityMethamphetamine availability and production are increasing in Illinois. Methamphetamine now poses the primary drug threat in the rural areas of the state and is the second most serious threat after crack in urban areas of central Illinois. The rate of increase in the number of methamphetamine laboratories in Illinois parallels previous increases in other states in the region. The number of laboratory seizures in these other states has increased significantly. Illinois State Police statistics for the third quarter of 1999 reveal that there were 77 methamphetamine encounters in 41 Illinois counties, a 208 percent increase from the third quarter of 1998 when 25 encounters were reported in 5 counties. Encounters are defined as abandoned or active methamphetamine laboratories, anhydrous ammonia thefts, dealer arrests, and methamphetamine purchases or seizures. The Illinois State Police expect to seize more than 400 methamphetamine laboratories in 2000, nearly double the number seized in 1999. This increase is due, in part, to law enforcement agencies from Missouri and Iowa aggressively pursuing methamphetamine cookers through targeted legislation, prompting them to relocate. Illinois Methamphetamine Encounters
Some urban areas such as Rockford, which is supplied by small laboratory operators in western Illinois, report increased availability of methamphetamine. Methamphetamine abuse is rising in areas surrounding Chicago, where Mexican criminal groups are transporting methamphetamine along with other drugs. With the exception of Chicago and the Metro-East area where Mexican-produced methamphetamine predominates, the methamphetamine available to the rest of Illinois is produced in small laboratories in the state. According to DEA, methamphetamine prices in Chicago range from $7,300 to $10,000 per pound (see Table 7), considerably less than the $20,000 average in the East and Midwest. Table 7. Methamphetamine Prices, Chicago, 2000
To Top
To Contents
The potential for violence associated with methamphetamine is
significant. Individuals addicted to methamphetamine are unpredictable and
will go to great lengths to obtain the drug. Methamphetamine users
experience feelings of paranoia, fright, and confusion, and as a result, may
become violent. Methamphetamine users are often paranoid and delusional and
frequently arm themselves against perceived threats. They may become violent
without provocation. In 1998, two men in Albion, Illinois, who were high
from a nonstop, 1-week binge on methamphetamine, went on a shooting spree
that left five people dead in two states. The victims included a Mennonite
farmer, shot as he worked in his fields, and a mother of four, killed after
they hijacked her car. Most methamphetamine is produced in high-volume clandestine laboratories
in Mexico and in California. Smaller laboratories, already established in
surrounding states, are emerging in Illinois. Although it is not very common
in northern Illinois, most methamphetamine in the area is shipped from
California, Missouri, and Iowa. Law enforcement agencies in the Southern and Central Districts report
that the production of methamphetamine is increasing in rural and
residential areas of Illinois. Laboratory operators are primarily lower- and
middle-income Caucasians who function independently and produce relatively
small quantities of methamphetamine. In response to the growing
methamphetamine problem, four major Illinois state laws regarding
methamphetamine possession, manufacturing, and precursor chemicals went into
effect in January 2000. Increased thefts of the fertilizer anhydrous ammonia point to an increase
in methamphetamine production in the Central and Southern Districts. Most of
the methamphetamine laboratories seized in Illinois involve the Nazi
production method. Anhydrous ammonia, which produces a hazardous and
volatile environment, is used in the Nazi method to speed the production of
methamphetamine. According to DEA, most anhydrous ammonia thieves are
addicted to methamphetamine and are willing to go to great lengths to obtain
the ammonia, which they sell or exchange for methamphetamine. Law
enforcement agencies report a wave of anhydrous ammonia thefts from farms
and supply outlets in the Central and Southern Districts. Farmers store
anhydrous ammonia as a liquid under pressure in large tanks in their fields.
Thieves remove locks from tanks with bolt cutters and use garden or vacuum
hoses to siphon the ammonia from the tanks. Since the tanks can hold as much
as 100,000 gallons, thefts--often of as little as a gallon or two--frequently
go undetected. Methamphetamine production is a serious safety and environmental concern.
The production process creates toxic and hazardous waste that endangers law
enforcement personnel, emergency response teams, and the environment.
Methamphetamine laboratories may contain a variety of highly flammable toxic
chemicals and vapors. Clandestine laboratories produce 5-6 pounds of toxic
waste for every pound of methamphetamine produced. Most toxic residue from
methamphetamine production is dumped in the local area, contaminating
groundwater and killing vegetation. In Adams County, methamphetamine cookers
are gathering all the necessary equipment and precursors and cooking on
rural, gravel roads and leaving waste in ditches. Government agencies spend
millions of dollars every year to clean up laboratory sites. Mexican DTOs are transporting methamphetamine into Illinois from
California and Mexico. DEA offices in Wyoming report that cities there have
become transit centers for multipound quantities of methamphetamine shipped
from California to Chicago. Seizures of methamphetamine from private
vehicles driven from California and Texas to Illinois have become more
common over the past 2 years. In June 1998, the California Highway Patrol
seized 13.4 kilograms of methamphetamine from two Mexican males during a
traffic stop in Placer County, California. The suspects were en route to
Chicago from San Francisco. In October 1998, a California man was indicted
on federal drug charges after officers of the Kansas State Patrol seized
approximately 12 kilograms of methamphetamine concealed in hidden
compartments in his 1985 Jaguar. The suspect was stopped for speeding while
traveling from California to Chicago. In 1999, there were several seizures
of methamphetamine destined for Chicago from California. For example, an
Operation Valkyrie stop in Illinois resulted in the seizure of 2.5 kilograms
of methamphetamine, and in San Bernardino County, California, 17.2 kilograms
were seized--both shipments were destined for Chicago. According to the
Chicago HIDTA, methamphetamine from California is also being shipped to
Illinois via the mail and other package delivery services.
Methamphetamine is also transported from Mexico to Illinois through other states on the Southwest Border. For example, two Mexican nationals were arrested in Texas in May 2000 with 31 kilograms of methamphetamine secreted in a private automobile being driven to Chicago. Methamphetamine transported to Chicago from the Southwest Border area is usually not consumed in the city but is transshipped to rural areas of Illinois and to other states in the region. In August 1998, an individual was arrested and charged with supplying 8 kilograms of methamphetamine from Chicago to users in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Methamphetamine produced in clandestine laboratories in Illinois and surrounding states is transported in private vehicles throughout the region via the highway system. Increased law enforcement pressure in Missouri is forcing methamphetamine laboratory operators to relocate to rural parts of western Illinois, where the methamphetamine is produced and transported back to Missouri for sale.
DistributionWholesale Mexican DTOs are now the largest wholesale distributors of methamphetamine in Illinois. Mexican DTOs use the same distribution channels for methamphetamine that are used for cocaine, marijuana, and heroin. Hispanic street gangs are becoming involved in methamphetamine distribution from Illinois to surrounding states. Three members of the Chicago-based Latin Kings were sentenced in June 2000 for their roles in a multistate methamphetamine distribution operation. The methamphetamine, along with cocaine and marijuana, was shipped from Mexico to Illinois for distribution in Illinois and Michigan. Although outlaw motorcycle gangs, primarily the Hells Angels, remain active in retail distribution, they no longer control wholesale distribution of methamphetamine.
Retail Outlaw motorcycle gangs and Hispanic gangs supplied by Mexican DTOs and independent Caucasian dealers who produce their own methamphetamine control the retail distribution of methamphetamine in Illinois. The primary users of methamphetamine in Illinois are whites in rural areas of the state. Methamphetamine sales at the retail level take place predominantly in rural areas where most consumption takes place. While a relatively large quantity of Mexico-produced methamphetamine transits Chicago, there is little evidence that it is being sold at the retail level there. |
End of page.
