Heroin

Heroin poses a serious threat to New Jersey, particularly to Newark. The number of heroin-related treatment admissions in New Jersey is significantly higher than for any other drug. According to the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, there were 25,009 primary admissions for heroin abuse in New Jersey in 1998, 24,010 in 1999, and 25,316 in 2000. According to DAWN data, there were more ED mentions for heroin abuse in Newark each year from 1994 through 2000 than for any other illicit substance. (See Table 1 in Cocaine section.) Newark had the highest rate of ED mentions (238) per 100,000 population in the nation in 2000. Additionally, in 2000 heroin was a factor in more deaths in the Newark area than any other illicit drug. According to DAWN mortality data, there were 179 heroin-related deaths in Essex, Morris, and Union Counties.

Heroin from all major source areas (South America, Southeast Asia, Southwest Asia, and Mexico) is available in New Jersey. However, South American heroin is by far the type most readily available. According to DEA, all the heroin purchased under the auspices of the Domestic Monitor Program (DMP) in Newark in the first half of FY2002 was identified as South American heroin and had an average purity of 78.6 percent. This is the first time that Newark reported higher purity levels than Philadelphia, which previously had the highest purity levels in the country.

Heroin is seized at an increasing rate in New Jersey but is seized less frequently than either cocaine or marijuana. According to FDSS data, federal law enforcement officials in New Jersey seized 54 kilograms of heroin in 1999, 91 in 2000, and 169 in 2001. Further, the percentage of drug-related federal sentences related to heroin in New Jersey was significantly higher than the national percentage each year from FY1996 through FY2000. (See Table 2 in Cocaine section.)

Heroin prices in New Jersey are relatively stable and reflect two distinct markets--northern and southern New Jersey. The distance between the distribution site and the source, primarily New York City, is one factor that might explain why heroin prices are significantly higher in southern New Jersey. In northern New Jersey heroin sold for $60,000 to $120,000 per kilogram, $1,600 to $4,200 per ounce, and $60 to $150 per gram in the second quarter of FY2002, according to the DEA Newark Division. In southern New Jersey heroin sold for $125,000 to $250,000 per kilogram, $4,500 to $9,000 per ounce, and $80 to $300 per gram during the same period.

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Colombian DTOs and criminal groups and Dominican criminal groups dominate the transportation of South American heroin into New Jersey, particularly Newark. These DTOs and criminal groups usually employ couriers to smuggle heroin aboard commercial aircraft or occasionally transport significant quantities of heroin, sometimes intermingled with large shipments of cocaine or marijuana, on containerized vessels. During the second quarter of 2002, U.S. Customs Service (USCS) inspectors confiscated almost 17 kilograms of heroin in 13 seizures and made 13 arrests at Newark International Airport. A significant portion (at least 6 kilograms) was sewn into the collars and waistbands of clothing transported by couriers directly from Bogota, Colombia. Nigerian and other West African criminal groups smuggle Southeast Asian heroin, and Lebanese, Pakistani, Nigerian, and other criminal groups smuggle Southwest Asian heroin. Both Southeast Asian heroin and Southwest Asian heroin are smuggled from source countries to Newark International Airport usually by couriers who conceal the drug in their clothing or in hidden compartments within their luggage. Additional quantities of heroin are transported in commercial and private vehicles from the Southwest Border and from states such as Florida and New York.

Colombian DTOs and criminal groups and Dominican criminal groups are the dominant wholesale distributors of South American heroin in New Jersey. Nigerian and other West African criminal groups are the dominant wholesale distributors of Southeast Asian heroin. Lebanese, Pakistani, Nigerian, and other criminal groups distribute Southwest Asian heroin in New Jersey.

African American criminal groups and street gangs and Dominican criminal groups are the dominant retail distributors of South American heroin. Nigerian and other West African criminal groups distribute Southeast Asian heroin, while Lebanese, Pakistani, and other criminal groups distribute Southwest Asian heroin at the retail level in New Jersey. Chinese, Colombian, Puerto Rican, and other Caribbean criminal groups, local independent dealers, Jamaican "posses," and various street gangs also sell retail quantities of heroin in the state. Heroin is sold primarily at open-air markets or in low-income housing developments in metropolitan centers including Camden, Elizabeth, Jersey City, Newark, and Paterson. It is usually packaged in glassine envelopes and sold in bags, bundles, or bricks. Most bags contain one-tenth gram and are stamped with a logo reflecting popular movies or events. Some of the more popular logos include Ground Zero, Money Train (with a picture of a locomotive), Lethal Injection (picture of two syringes), Scarface, and 9-11 (picture of the World Trade Center twin towers). Most bundles contain 8 to 10 bags wrapped in a rubber band; a bundle of heroin in the Camden area usually contains 13 bags. Bricks usually contain five bundles (50 bags) wrapped in newspaper. In Camden, "sleeves" that contain 250 bags wrapped in telephone book pages are also available.

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