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Abuse

The number of drug-related treatment admissions in Harris County declined from 2005 through 2007. According to Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) data, total drug-related treatment admissions to publicly funded facilities declined 17 percent during this period; however, the number of drug-related treatment admissions fluctuated for specific drugs. Crack cocaine, heroin, and marijuana/hashish-related treatment admissions declined, powder cocaine-related admissions slightly increased, and amphetamine/methamphetamine-related admissions remained stable over the 3-year period. (See Table 3.)

Table 3. Number of Adult and Youth Drug-Related Treatment Admissions to Publicly Funded Facilities in the Houston HIDTA Region, 2005-2007

County Powder Cocaine Crack Cocaine Heroin Marijuana/Hashish Amphetamines
2005 2006 2007 2005 2006 2007 2005 2006 2007 2005 2006 2007 2005 2006 2007
Aransas Adult * * * * * * 35 28 21 0 0 * 14 * *
Youth 0 0 0 * 0 0 0 0 0 27 28 36 * * *
Brooks Adult 12 14 26 13 * * 0 0 0 * 15 25 0 0 0
Youth 0 * 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 * * * 0 0 0
Fort Bend Adult 45 70 88 73 70 57 13 * * 152 140 170 13 * 20
Youth * * 0 * 0 0 0 0 0 54 21 13 0 0 0
Galveston Adult 118 115 106 387 273 301 31 30 19 158 133 149 36 32 31
Youth * * * * * 0 0 0 0 81 96 141 0 * *
Hardin Adult * 18 * 22 29 32 * * 0 10 10 17 33 15 17
Youth 0 * 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 * * 11 0 * *
Harris Adult 759 924 819 2,058 1,798 1,605 386 420 169 1,339 1,280 1,153 181 264 199
Youth 50 42 48 * 10 * 0 * 0 992 888 800 * * *
Jefferson Adult 59 67 89 411 414 357 * 16 11 117 139 142 26 54 64
Youth 0 * 0 0 * * 0 0 0 53 47 38 0 * 0
Jim Wells Adult 31 58 42 17 28 20 13 12 * 32 46 37 * * *
Youth 0 0 0 0 * * 0 0 0 * * * 0 0 0
Kenedy Adult 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Youth 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Kleberg Adult * 11 * * 14 * * * * * * * * 0 *
Youth 0 * 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 * * 0 0 0 0
Liberty Adult * 11 * 20 16 20 * 0 * 17 13 12 25 17 32
Youth * 0 * 0 0 0 0 0 0 * * * 0 0 *
Nueces Adult 334 324 282 468 360 278 404 443 340 230 256 312 155 75 104
Youth * 10 18 * * * * * * 154 163 181 * * *
Orange Adult 12 * 27 57 81 82 * * * 21 36 34 29 51 34
Youth * 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 * * * 0 * 0
Refugio Adult * * 0 * 0 * 0 0 * * * * 0 0 0
Youth 0 0 0 0 * 0 0 0 0 * * 0 0 0 0
San Patricio Adult 34 36 21 34 36 28 32 41 28 12 14 19 10 * 18
Youth * * * * * * 0 0 0 16 15 29 0 0 *
Victoria Adult 25 11 * 18 17 17 0 * * * * * * * 10
Youth * * * 0 0 0 0 0 0 40 68 40 0 * 0
Total** Adult 1,429 1,659 1,500 3,578 3,136 2,797 914 990 588 2,088 2,082 2,070 522 508 529
Youth 50 52 66 0 10 0 0 0 0 1,417 1,326 1,289 0 0 0

Source: Texas Department of State Health Services.
* As a result of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act confidentiality requirements, fewer than 10 treatment admissions cannot be reported.
** Houston HIDTA region totals do not include fewer than 10 admissions in any category; therefore, actual totals are slightly higher than those represented.

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Illicit Finance

Houston is a significant money laundering location because of its proximity to Mexico as well as its role as a global financial center. Traffickers launder drug funds in Houston primarily by consolidating illicit proceeds generated in the city and transporting them in bulk to Mexico. Traffickers also use the area as a consolidation point for bulk currency shipments from other regions of the country. Traffickers transport smaller bulk cash shipments to Houston for consolidation before the shipments are transported to the Southwest Border area, where they are smuggled into Mexico for eventual repatriation. NDIC estimates indicate that Mexican and Colombian DTOs operating in the United States generate, remove, and launder between $8.3 billion and $24.9 billion in illicit drug proceeds (the latest data available) annually, a significant portion of which is most likely bulk-smuggled across the Southwest Border into Mexico.5 Of this amount, it is likely that a large portion is smuggled through South Texas POEs such as Brownsville, Laredo, Rio Grande City, and Roma. A large percentage of these proceeds probably transit the Houston metropolitan area en route to South Texas and Mexico.

Traffickers also engage in other money laundering activities within Houston, including exploiting financial institutions, commingling illicit proceeds with legitimate business funds generated at cash-intensive businesses, using MSBs and informal value transfer systems (IVTSs),6 purchasing tangible assets, and gambling. Traffickers often use several methods of money laundering concurrently in an attempt to mask illicit proceeds.

End Notes

5. NDIC estimates indicate that DTOs generate, remove, and launder from $13.6 billion to $47.7 billion in wholesale distribution proceeds annually. These figures were derived by multiplying the total quantity of foreign-produced drugs available at the wholesale level in the United States by wholesale prices for those drugs.
6. Informal value transfer systems (IVTSs) include the Black Market Peso Exchange (BMPE) and hawala. Such systems provide a means to transfer value from one location to another without the details of each transaction being recorded at a traditional financial institution, such as a bank or a registered money transmittal service. The BMPE is used primarily by South American, particularly Colombian, traffickers, while hawala is used by Southwest Asian traffickers.

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