Appendix B. Profiles of HIDTA Counties in Upstate New York

Albany County

Drug Threat

Cocaine, particularly crack, poses the greatest threat to Albany County and the city of Albany. Heroin and marijuana, particularly hydroponic marijuana from Canada, also pose a serious threat to the area.

Sources of Supply and Transportation

Powder cocaine dealers in Albany County are usually young Caucasian males and African American males. They often use cell phones or pagers to place an order with Dominican males based in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan. The Albany dealers then travel to Washington Heights in privately owned vehicles, purchase multiounce quantities of cocaine, and transport the drug to Albany County for retail distribution. The Albany dealers make these trips on a weekly basis and usually purchase cocaine from multiple sources in Washington Heights. The prices are generally similar--they often obtain the drug from whoever has it available. The dealers also transport cocaine to the area from New York City by bus. Some of the Washington Heights-based Dominican sources travel in privately owned vehicles to Albany to deliver multiounce to kilogram quantities of the product to their regular customers.

Crack dealers in Albany County are usually African American males ranging in age from 14 to 30 years. They obtain multiounce quantities of crack from Dominican DTOs in Washington Heights and transport the drug to Albany for retail distribution. They also purchase powder cocaine and process it into crack. These dealers usually travel in privately owned vehicles to Washington Heights on a weekly basis; however, they also employ couriers, often female, to transport the product.

Heroin dealers in Albany County are usually Hispanic, both males and females, ranging in age from 20 to 50 years. A small contingent of young African American males also distributes heroin in the area. Dealers usually travel in privately owned vehicles to Washington Heights, where they purchase the drug from Dominican DTOs and then transport 300 to 400 bags of heroin to the Albany County area for retail distribution. Heroin dealers also transport the drug to Albany on commercial buses and trains.

Albany-based midlevel hydroponic marijuana dealers often travel to the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation on the U.S.-Canada border, purchase marijuana from Native American smugglers who reside on the reservation, and then transport the drug to the Albany area. They then meet retailers in locations such as shopping mall parking lots and distribute the drug there.

Secondary Markets

The city of Albany is a distribution center for crack cocaine in Upstate New York. The city also is a source of supply for powder cocaine, crack, and heroin to smaller cities and towns in the surrounding areas as well as Vermont and Massachusetts. Dealers and abusers from Clifton Park, Colonie, Lake George, Plattsburgh, Saratoga Springs, Schenectady, Syracuse, Troy, and other surrounding towns travel to Albany to obtain drugs for further distribution or personal consumption. Some Albany dealers also deliver cocaine and crack to their regular customers in these secondary markets. These deals typically take place at prearranged meeting locations in residences or parking lots.

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Erie County (Buffalo)

Drug Threat

Cocaine, particularly crack, poses the greatest threat to Erie County and the city of Buffalo. Marijuana, particularly hydroponic marijuana from Canada, poses a serious threat to the area because Buffalo has become a major transshipment point for Canadian marijuana smuggled into the United States. Heroin poses an increasing threat to the area.

Sources of Supply and Transportation

The distribution of powder cocaine, crack, and heroin is controlled by Hispanic traffickers, particularly Dominicans, on the west side of Buffalo and by African American traffickers on the east side. The dealers are usually male and range in age from 17 to 50.

Powder cocaine dealers usually travel twice a month in private vehicles to New York City and, to a lesser extent, Atlanta; Detroit, Michigan; and various locations in Florida to purchase cocaine from their sources of supply. They typically transport larger quantities (multikilogram quantities) than quantities transported by dealers in Albany or Syracuse because Buffalo is a greater distance from New York City. Some local cocaine dealers also receive shipments directly from areas near the Southwest Border.

Crack dealers transport powder cocaine to Buffalo, where they convert the powder cocaine to crack. Most of the crack processed in Buffalo remains in the area.

Local heroin traffickers travel to New York City in privately owned vehicles to purchase heroin, both prepackaged and in bulk. Many of these dealers use females as couriers to transport the drug. They also transport kilogram quantities of heroin to Buffalo in "trapped vehicles."²³ Most of the traffickers purchase heroin in wholesale or midlevel quantities and package it for retail distribution upon their return to Buffalo.

Secondary Markets

The city of Buffalo supplies many secondary markets in Erie County and other surrounding areas. Dealers and abusers from Amherst, Cheektowaga, Jamestown, Niagara Falls, Olean, Tonawanda, and West Seneca drive to Buffalo to purchase powder cocaine, crack, heroin, and marijuana for personal use and further distribution. Additionally, Buffalo crack dealers deliver the product to regular customers in suburban and rural areas and to other cities such as Rochester; some deliveries have been made as far away as Batavia and Springville.

Buffalo is a major transshipment point for marijuana entering the United States and cocaine entering Canada, and the Niagara Frontier Region is the primary transit area for cocaine entering eastern Canada, according to DEA. Western New York POEs are increasingly being used for the transshipment of marijuana into the United States; a large portion of the marijuana seized in Buffalo is destined for locations outside western New York. There has also been a large increase in the quantity of hydroponic marijuana shipped to the United States from Canada. Previously, loads shipped through western New York POEs weighed several hundred pounds; now most weigh several thousand pounds.

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Monroe County (Rochester)

Drug Threat

Powder cocaine poses the most serious threat to Monroe County and the city of Rochester. Crack cocaine, heroin, and marijuana also pose significant threats to the city.

Sources of Supply and Transportation

Rochester-based powder cocaine dealers make frequent trips on Interstates 90 and 87 to New York City and transport 2 to 6 kilograms of cocaine to Rochester. They usually purchase the cocaine in Washington Heights and southern Brooklyn. Some dealers also travel to Houston and Atlanta and transport 5 to 15 kilograms of cocaine to Rochester. The dealers, usually young Dominican males, use sophisticated traps in privately owned vehicles to conceal the cocaine. Upon returning to Rochester, they distribute the cocaine to Dominican and African American midlevel and retail dealers.

Most crack cocaine dealers in Rochester are young African American males. They travel to New York City in privately owned vehicles, buses, and trains and transport multikilogram quantities of powder cocaine to Rochester for conversion to crack. Some of the Rochester dealers also have direct connections with Mexican DTOs and order cocaine directly from them. Further, some New York City-based sources of supply deliver cocaine directly to Rochester dealers, and, in some cases, they wait for payment until the drugs are sold.

Local heroin dealers, usually Dominicans, travel in privately owned vehicles to New York City or Detroit, purchase multiounce quantities of the drug, and transport it to Rochester for local distribution.

Secondary Markets

Rochester serves as a distribution center for powder and crack cocaine and heroin to cities, towns, and counties within a 40-mile radius of the city, including the towns of Corning and Elmira as well as Livingston, Ontario, Seneca, Wayne, and Yates Counties.

Onondaga County (Syracuse)

Drug Threat

Cocaine, particularly crack, poses the most serious threat to Onondaga County and the city of Syracuse. Marijuana, particularly Canadian hydroponic marijuana, also poses a significant threat. Heroin poses an increasing threat to Syracuse, particularly in the city's affluent areas.

Sources of Supply and Transportation

Local dealers make frequent trips from Syracuse to Washington Heights in private vehicles, buses, and trains and purchase multiounce quantities of cocaine or smaller quantities of heroin. Dealers also commonly recruit couriers, often female, to transport cocaine and heroin to Syracuse. Most of the crack available in the Syracuse area is transported as powder cocaine and converted locally. Heroin is also transported to Syracuse from Rochester. The drug is then cut and repackaged for retail distribution in the city and surrounding areas.

Secondary Markets

Syracuse supplies secondary markets in an approximate radius of 60 miles from the city, including Binghamton, Fort Drum, Oswego, Utica, and Watertown.

End Note

23. Trapped vehicles are vehicles equipped with hidden compartments that are used for smuggling drugs, drug proceeds, and other illicit materials.

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