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National Drug Intelligence
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Widespread and rising methamphetamine distribution and abuse are the greatest threats to the Midwest HIDTA region and are straining local law enforcement, public health, and social services resources in many areas, particularly in rural locales with limited resources. Although local methamphetamine production has declined significantly in most areas of the region, an abundant supply of Mexican ice methamphetamine throughout the HIDTA region has fueled methamphetamine abuse.
Crack cocaine distribution and abuse are pervasive in urban areas of the HIDTA region, and the drug and its associated crime are serious concerns that have a direct and profound impact on law enforcement and public health resources. Mexican DTOs supply local African American street gangs with powder cocaine that they convert to crack in the area; these gangs control retail distribution of the crack that they manufacture. Additionally, African American street gangs based in Chicago, Detroit, and Minneapolis transport large quantities of powder cocaine, crack cocaine, and other illicit drugs to Midwest HIDTA markets in Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Street gangs and other crack distributors commonly commit violent crimes including assaults, drive-by shootings, and robberies to protect and expand their drug operations.
Various other illicit drugs are available and abused in the Midwest HIDTA region. Mexican commercial-grade marijuana is the most widely available and abused illicit drug throughout the HIDTA region. Locally produced marijuana also is available, as is high-quality hydroponic marijuana produced in Canada; however, most marijuana produced in Canada transits the region en route to other U.S. markets. Heroin availability and abuse are mostly limited to the St. Louis area, where white powder and Mexican black tar are the predominant forms of the drug available. Diverted pharmaceuticals, MDMA, and other dangerous drugs (ODDs) such as PCP (phencyclidine) pose a lesser threat and are available and abused to varying degrees.
Mexican DTOs are the primary organizational threat to the Midwest HIDTA region. They are expanding their influence and control over the region's drug markets, particularly in coordinating most of the ice methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana shipments from the Southwest Border to the Midwest HIDTA region. Mexican traffickers are also strengthening their distribution networks in eastern Missouri, including the St. Louis area. Moreover, Mexican DTOs have taken advantage of decreased domestic methamphetamine production caused by state pseudoephedrine control legislation to increase distribution of Mexican ice methamphetamine in the HIDTA region.
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Drug Trafficking Organizations, Criminal Groups, and Gangs Drug trafficking organizations are complex organizations with highly defined command-and-control structures that produce, transport, and/or distribute large quantities of one or more illicit drugs. Criminal groups operating in the United States are numerous and range from small to moderately sized, loosely knit groups that distribute one or more drugs at the retail level and midlevel. Gangs are defined by the National Alliance of Gang Investigators' Associations as groups or associations of three or more persons with a common identifying sign, symbol, or name, the members of which individually or collectively engage in criminal activity that creates an atmosphere of fear and intimidation. |
An increasing Hispanic population in the Midwest HIDTA region has facilitated the expansion of Mexican drug trafficking territory. Many Mexican and Central American illegal immigrants have relocated to midwestern towns seeking employment, particularly at meatpacking and poultry processing plants in rural communities in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska. Rural areas and smaller towns with a rising Mexican/Central American population include northwest Iowa; Liberal, Dodge City, Garden City, and Great Bend, Kansas; Joplin and southwest Missouri; and Grand Island, Fremont, and Lexington, Nebraska. Mexican traffickers easily blend with growing Mexican and Central American communities to facilitate their drug trafficking operations and often use these meatpacking towns as hubs and secondary markets for drug distribution. Small, rural law enforcement agencies, constrained by a lack of resources and cultural and language differences, often are unable to infiltrate these drug trafficking organizations.
African American and Hispanic street gangs distribute illicit drugs in the HIDTA's metropolitan and outlying areas. African American street gangs (primarily Bloods and Crips gang factions) dominate distribution of crack cocaine and also distribute retail quantities of marijuana in markets such as Kansas City, Omaha, St. Louis, Springfield, and Wichita. Sureņos4 factions (including Florencia 13, also known as F-13) are the predominant Hispanic street gangs operating in the Midwest HIDTA; Hispanic street gangs distribute retail to wholesale quantities of marijuana and retail quantities of methamphetamine in markets such as Kansas City, Omaha, St. Louis, Wichita, and Cedar Rapids. While some of these street gang members have relocated from California or the Southwest Border and maintain ties with national gangs, many street gangs operating within the HIDTA are homegrown and have limited connections to nationally affiliated organizations. Members often are difficult to classify or affiliate with one specific gang, and turf boundaries are not clearly defined. In addition, Chicago-based African American street gangs such as Gangster Disciples, Black Peace Stone Nation, and Vice Lords operate in several market areas, including Cedar Rapids, Fargo, Omaha, Sioux City, and Sioux Falls; however, these gang members typically travel from Chicago, Minneapolis, and other markets in order to distribute crack cocaine and then return home. Law enforcement officials in Pennington County, South Dakota; and Kansas City, Missouri, report that gang members sometimes advertise their drugs on social networking Internet sites such as MySpace and Facebook and also post pictures of themselves posing with drugs and/or weapons. In addition, the Garden City, Kansas, Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) St. Louis Field Division report that gang members use these web sites to network and maintain ties with other members. Various outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMGs), including El Forastero, Galloping Goose, and Sons of Silence, distribute limited quantities of methamphetamine and marijuana throughout the HIDTA.
Table 1. Drugs in the Midwest HIDTA, by Retail Distributor and Market, 2008
| Drug | Distributor | Market |
|---|---|---|
| Methamphetamine | Hispanic street gangs; Caucasian local independent dealers | All markets |
| Crack Cocaine | African American street gangs and independent dealers | All markets |
| Marijuana | Hispanic street gangs; African American street gangs; Caucasian local independent dealers | All markets |
| Heroin | African American street gangs and local independent dealers; Caucasian local independent dealers | St. Louis |
| PCP | African American street gang members and local independent dealers | Kansas City; Omaha; St. Louis; Wichita |
Source: Drug Enforcement Administration Trends in the Traffic; Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force.
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