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National Drug
Intelligence Center New Jersey Drug Threat Assessment May 2001 MethamphetamineMethamphetamine poses a growing challenge for law enforcement officials in New Jersey. However, it is an insignificant threat when compared with the other major drugs. The traditional P2P (1-phenyl 2-propanone) method of producing methamphetamine, also known as phenylacetone, is the most commonly used in New Jersey. OMGs, traditional organized crime groups (e.g., IOC), and teenagers and young adults at raves dominate methamphetamine distribution in New Jersey. AbuseMethamphetamine users at drug treatment facilities in New Jersey rarely report the drug as an abused substance; therefore, abuse data are difficult to obtain. The number of methamphetamine ED mentions and mentions per 100,000 from 1991 to 1998 were insignificant. There were fewer than 10 mentions per 100,000 in Newark, according to DAWN data. The type of individual using methamphetamine has changed. In the past, methamphetamine use was restricted to a small group of older users and bikers. More recently, young, middle-class individuals, some of college age, have tried the drug.
AvailabilityMethamphetamine is more available than it has ever been in New Jersey, but remains a low threat when compared with other major drugs. Drug intelligence sources indicate that organized crime and the popularity of raves contribute to an increase in methamphetamine availability. Methamphetamine is commonly distributed in combination with other drugs at raves. Some MDMA users in New Jersey mistakenly purchase methamphetamine believing it is MDMA. Law enforcement officials seized at least one P2P methamphetamine laboratory a year in New Jersey between 1997 and 1999, but none in 2000. In New Jersey, only four laboratories were seized in 1997, one in 1998, one in 1999, and none in 2000. Methamphetamine laboratory seizures on the West Coast and in the midwest are far more common. For example, DEA in Arizona seized 139 laboratories in 1997, 226 in 1998, and 376 in 1999. Roughly half of the 108 MAGLOCLEN member agencies reported an increase in the availability of methamphetamine in their jurisdictions from 1997 to 2000. Local independent Caucasian criminal groups, OMGs, and traditional organized crime groups had more P2P available for distribution in New Jersey in 1997 after 1,000 gallons of P2P were successfully transported to the area. Law enforcement officials seized about 130 of the original 1,000 gallons, which ranged in price from $22,000 to $30,000 a gallon. One thousand gallons of P2P can yield 5 tons of methamphetamine. According to the FDSS, law enforcement officers in New Jersey rarely seized kilogram quantities of methamphetamine between FY1995 and FY1999. (See Table 3.) Of the 32,741 kilograms of all drugs seized statewide, only 5 kilograms (0.02%) were methamphetamine. Three kilograms were seized in FY1998, more than the amount seized in the other 4 years combined. Officials from Burlington, Gloucester, and Warren Counties report that methamphetamine is available in limited amounts. The New Jersey County Prosecutor's Office and the DEA Newark Office reported that methamphetamine is more commonly available in central and southern New Jersey.
Methamphetamine prices in New Jersey are relatively stable. Methamphetamine prices in New Jersey were stable per gram, increased 3 percent per 1/8-ounce ball, and decreased 2 percent per ounce, 12 percent per pound, and 25 percent per kilogram between August 1997 and September 1999. Table 9.
Methamphetamine Prices (in Dollars)
Source: Drug Enforcement Administration, Newark Field Division, Trends in the Traffic 4th Quarter FY2000. Drug purity on the street decreased from 55 percent in 1999 to 49 percent in 2000, according to laboratory analysis. Purity at all distribution levels ranged from 35 to 90 percent, according to DEA and the MAGLOCLEN Regional Drug Price and Purity Report.
ViolenceAs the number of methamphetamine users increases in New Jersey, violence and psychotic episodes will likely increase as well. Long-term methamphetamine addicts often display paranoia, experience hallucinations or mood disturbances, and have a tendency toward violence. As the euphoric effect begins to diminish, the user enters a stage called "tweaking." It is during this stage that the user is most prone to violence, delusions, and paranoid behavior. These unpredictable and violent behaviors prompted law enforcement agencies to offer training and establish guidelines for officers encountering a methamphetamine user. Officers are advised to stay 7 to 10 feet away from the user because moving closer could be perceived as threatening. Officers also are advised not to shine bright lights at the user, who could become violent if blinded.
In addition to the crime and violence associated with methamphetamine distribution and use, methamphetamine laboratories adversely affect the environment and endanger the lives of those who live at or near the site. Children, law enforcement personnel, and local residents are increasingly exposed to the dangers posed by the explosive and toxic chemicals used to produce methamphetamine. In addition to the risks to people, toxic by-products of the methamphetamine production process often contaminate groundwater, soil, and buildings. Mexican criminal groups, some prone to violence, produce most methamphetamine sold in the United States. These criminal groups blend easily with the Mexican population in New Jersey, which includes violent Mexican gangs already residing in the state. Law enforcement reports indicate that Mexican gangs are an increasing problem in northern New Jersey. Mexican gangs commit violent crimes such as drive-by shootings and assaults. The Pagans and Breed OMGs, the most active and widely recognized methamphetamine distributors in New Jersey, are known for committing violent crimes. In response to the NDIC National Gang Survey 2000, the Trenton Police Department reported that the Pagans and Breed OMGs distribute methamphetamine in Trenton and often commit assaults and drive-by shootings. In April 1999, Pagans members allegedly assaulted patrons of a bar during a Battle of the Bands benefit, resulting in serious injury to one person. The Pagans reportedly attacked people with "Pagan walking sticks" and pool cues. The beating victims identified attackers through photographs, but feared retaliation and did not press charges. On June 12, 1999, Bound Brook Police Officers arrested a Pagans member for kidnapping, aggravated assault, and terroristic threats after he beat his girlfriend unconscious.
ProductionMethamphetamine is synthesized from precursor compounds, unlike most other commonly encountered controlled substances. Methamphetamine producers typically use one of three precursors: ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or P2P. Ephedrine and pseudoephedrine are alkaloids that can be extracted from Ma Huang, the ephedra plant, or synthesized from other compounds. P2P is an industrial chemical that can be synthesized only from other compounds. The P2P process is lengthy and complicated. Various precursor chemicals are placed on a condenser in a flask. The compound in the flask is mixed, begins to react, and is left overnight. After the reaction has occurred, two layers form in the flask. The top layer is methamphetamine. To convert it to a crystal form, additional chemicals are added, heated, and then poured into chilled acetone. White crystals form and are collected for further drying.
P2P is the most common method used for producing methamphetamine in New Jersey. The P2P method is also popular in Philadelphia from where some methamphetamine is transported to and distributed in New Jersey. The hydriodic acid and red phosphorus reduction method may become more popular. This method produces d-methamphetamine, a drug twice as potent as dl-methamphetamine with a longer-lasting euphoric effect. The hydriodic acid and red phosphorus reduction method, popular in large-scale Mexican operations, is increasing in southern California. It may spread to New Jersey because Mexican groups already distribute heroin and cocaine and could easily blend with the Mexican population already living in the state. New Jersey-based companies manufacture many of the precursor chemicals used by West Coast distributors to produce methamphetamine. New Jersey, with the largest number of pharmaceutical and chemical companies in the nation, is an ideal location for the exploitation of precursor chemicals. Over 300 New Jersey-based companies are registered in the state as manufacturers, importers, or distributors of regulated chemicals, including controlled substances and precursor chemicals.
Although most methamphetamine seized in New Jersey is produced in areas like Philadelphia and, to a lesser extent, the Southwest Border, some methamphetamine laboratories have been discovered in the rural counties of New Jersey. Law enforcement officers in the state have periodically seized precursors and arrested producers referred to as cookers. On February 10, 1999, New Jersey State Police and DEA investigators seized 120 gallons of P2P from a man intending to distribute the precursor to members of the Warlocks OMG. In May 1999, local law enforcement officers arrested a man with ties to the Warlocks and Pagans OMGs for being the lead cooker in a methamphetamine production and distribution operation in South Jersey. In response to the NDIC National Drug Threat Survey 2000, the Warren County Prosecutor's Office reported that methamphetamine laboratories exist in the county but tend to be in remote locations making detection difficult. The Essex County Sheriff's Office conducted no methamphetamine investigations and made no arrests in 1999.
TransportationThe methamphetamine that is transported to New Jersey from the Southwest Border is shipped in tractor-trailers, private vehicles, or airmail parcels routed through express mail services. Additional quantities are transported to New Jersey concealed inside private vehicles or commercial tractor-trailers traveling on Interstates 95, 80, 78, and 76 directly from production sites in states such as Pennsylvania. Airmail and parcel service packages containing up to a pound of methamphetamine are used to transport methamphetamine. Some methamphetamine is transshipped through the state destined for Pennsylvania and states as far away as Texas.
DistributionTraditional organized crime groups smuggle precursor chemicals from Europe and sell the precursors to OMGs and local independent, Caucasian criminal groups. Once OMGs such as the Breed, Pagans, and Warlocks produce methamphetamine, they then wholesale the drug to other biker gangs, primarily in the central and southern counties, and in states such as Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, and North Carolina. For example, the Warlocks reportedly supply methamphetamine to other biker gangs in Camden County. Teenagers and young adults also sell methamphetamine at raves. Philadelphia-based suppliers distribute methamphetamine in central and southern New Jersey, particularly Ocean, Atlantic, and Burlington Counties. According to a U.S. Attorney report, Philadelphia-based wholesalers distribute methamphetamine in Camden as well. Most New Jersey-based distributors transport methamphetamine to Pennsylvania and as far away as Texas. In response to the NDIC National Drug Threat Survey 2000, the Essex County Sheriff's Office and Warren County Prosecutor's Office report that methamphetamine is rarely distributed in those two counties.
DEA sources in New Jersey report that the Bandana group (technically not an OMG) and Pagans OMG actively distribute methamphetamine in Monmouth County. These two appear to have formed an alliance to finance methamphetamine distribution in the state. However, additional sources report that a Bandana member shot a Pagans member and that the two gangs no longer work together. The Bandana gang may now be working with the Breed; however, the Pagans is the more dominant methamphetamine distribution OMG in New Jersey. In addition to distribution at the wholesale level, OMGs also retail methamphetamine in the urban areas of New Jersey. According to responses to the NDIC National Street Gang Survey 2000, the most active OMGs distributing methamphetamine in New Jersey are the Breed and Pagans. Both gangs distribute methamphetamine in Trenton and surrounding cities. The Breed also distributes methamphetamine from Asbury Park to a predominantly Caucasian clientele. Although OMGs continue to dominate the retail distribution of methamphetamine, they eventually may be forced to compete with the expanding Mexican criminal groups. Although Mexican criminal groups control the transportation and distribution of methamphetamine throughout most of the country, they do not control methamphetamine distribution in New Jersey. In fact, Mexican criminal groups only started to distribute methamphetamine in northern New Jersey in the late 1990s. DEA in New Jersey believes it is only a matter of time before the methamphetamine threat broadens in the state. If Mexican criminal groups continue to expand their transportation network to New Jersey, then the amount of methamphetamine available and the number of users will likely increase.
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