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National Drug Intelligence
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Mexican DTOs and criminal groups control wholesale and much of the midlevel methamphetamine, powder cocaine,8 marijuana, and heroin distribution in the HIDTA region. Most Mexican DTOs and criminal groups do not stockpile drug shipments for extended periods of time but, rather, use vacant stash houses and apartments for short-term storage and distribution to midlevel dealers. Mexican wholesale and midlevel dealers are the primary sources of supply for Caucasian and African American retailers, conducting most sales through referrals and prearranged meetings rather than in open-air settings.
Mexican DTOs have increased ice methamphetamine distribution considerably in the Midwest HIDTA region over the past 3 years. State pseudoephedrine control legislation has reduced domestic methamphetamine availability and created a shortfall in supply. This shortfall has served as an opportunity for Mexican DTOs to meet the demand in the HIDTA's markets with high-quality Mexican ice methamphetamine. Law enforcement agencies in most HIDTA drug markets now report that the vast majority of available methamphetamine is ice methamphetamine. Law enforcement officials in most HIDTA markets also report a sustained and plentiful supply of methamphetamine; however, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officials in Garden City, Kansas, reported a decrease in Mexican methamphetamine availability in 2007. This decrease can be attributed to successful law enforcement efforts that disrupted an area distribution network and also to a possible decrease in methamphetamine production in Mexico.
Mexican DTOs use Kansas City and St. Louis as distribution centers to supply illicit drugs to major market areas throughout the United States as well as to supply dealers in the HIDTA region. Mexican traffickers typically offload drug shipments from the Southwest Region to these cities, repackage the drugs, and then supply them to markets within the region as well as to major market areas throughout the Midwest, Great Lakes, and Northeast Regions. Mexican traffickers distribute cocaine from Kansas City to Chicago; Dayton, Ohio; and Detroit. They also distribute cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine from St. Louis to Chicago and Springfield, Illinois, and to Milwaukee. The convergence of Interstates 44, 55, 64, and 70 in St. Louis and Interstates 29, 35, and 70 in Kansas City provide easy access for distributors to transport illicit drugs to these markets.
Various ethnic street gangs and criminal groups distribute illicit drugs at the retail level. Retail crack distribution is conducted primarily by African American street gangs and criminal groups at drug markets in many areas, but aggressive law enforcement efforts have forced some of these distributors to conduct sales from apartments or at controlled locations. Hispanic street gangs distribute methamphetamine and marijuana at the retail level, while Caucasian street gangs, criminal groups, and local independent dealers distribute methamphetamine, marijuana, and limited quantities of MDMA at the retail level. Asian street gangs and criminal groups distribute varying quantities of MDMA in Des Moines, the Kansas City metropolitan area, Springfield, St. Louis, Wichita, and Columbia, Missouri. Various OMGs such as El Forastero, Galloping Goose, and Sons of Silence distribute methamphetamine and marijuana in the HIDTA region.
In order to facilitate drug distribution in the Midwest HIDTA region, particularly at the retail level, traffickers commonly use disposable cell phones. While disposable cell phones commonly have been used by midlevel traffickers in the past, their popularity has increased rapidly among retail-level traffickers because they are relatively cheap and difficult to trace (stores do not require a credit check for their purchase). Traffickers typically use cell phones for a limited time before switching to a new phone with a new number to further reduce the possibility of law enforcement detection. In addition, traffickers often prefer to use text messaging and phones with push-to-talk capabilities in an attempt to thwart law enforcement surveillance.
High levels of violent and property crime in the HIDTA region are often associated with the distribution and abuse of illicit drugs, particularly crack cocaine and methamphetamine. Crack cocaine and methamphetamine distributors commonly commit violent crimes including assault, carjacking, drive-by shootings, home invasion, robbery, and firearms violations to protect and expand their drug operations. Methamphetamine and crack abuse are often associated with domestic violence and child abuse, and abusers often commit property crimes, such as burglary, forgery, fraud, larceny, and identity theft, to support their addictions.
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