National Drug Intelligence Center   New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis 2008   June 2008

Strategic Drug Threat Developments

• Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) are becoming more influential in the illicit drug trade in the NY/NJ HIDTA region. They are transporting increasing amounts of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana for Colombian and Dominican DTOs, the predominant cocaine and heroin traffickers in the region. They also are escalating their involvement in the wholesale distribution of illicit drugs in the region, particularly Mexican marijuana, cocaine, and South American (SA) heroin.
   
• Cocaine availability decreased in the region during the first half of 2007, a likely result of large seizures of cocaine in transit to the United States, successful law enforcement efforts against prominent Mexican DTOs, violent conflicts in Mexico between competing Mexican DTOs, and increased demand for cocaine in non-U.S. markets. After a brief return to preshortage availability levels during the third quarter of 2007, cocaine availability again declined in the latter part of 2007, according to several law enforcement sources. However, some law enforcement officials in the NY/NJ HIDTA region report that availability did not actually decline; instead, some suppliers were insinuating that there were shortages to drive up prices.
   
• Cocaine shortages during early 2007 prompted many distributors to stretch limited supplies by cutting cocaine with various diluents. To this end, some wholesale distributors advised retail distributors that, because their cocaine was diluted, its purity was lower and not suitable for converting to crack.
   
• Rising levels of prescription narcotics abuse--particularly among teenagers and young adults--are fueling a heroin abuse problem in the region. Some abusers who become addicted to prescription narcotics are switching to heroin because of the drug's higher availability and lower price.
   
• Street gang members are increasingly using Internet social networking sites, personal web pages, online communities and forums, and message boards to facilitate their drug trafficking operations, recruit new members, boast about gang membership or related activities, and advertise events and house parties.
   
• Trinitarios, a Hispanic street gang in the NY/NJ HIDTA region, is establishing a reputation for extreme violence throughout the region. Trinitarios members distribute heroin and cocaine at the retail level in many drug markets within the region.

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HIDTA Overview

The NY/NJ HIDTA region encompasses 17 counties located throughout New York and northeastern New Jersey. The New York portion of the region consists of the five boroughs of New York City (Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island), the outer two counties of Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk), Westchester County (just north of New York City), and four counties in Upstate¹ New York that were added to the HIDTA region in 2007 (Albany, Erie, Monroe, and Onondaga²). The New Jersey portion consists of Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic, and Union Counties.

The NY/NJ HIDTA region is the most ethnically diverse urban area in the United States, a factor that enables many foreign-born criminals to easily assimilate within ethnic communities and mask their operations throughout the area.³ Individuals from over 100 countries reside in the New York metropolitan area; almost 2 million of the approximately 8 million New York City residents are foreign-born. Significant numbers of people from drug source and transit countries reside in various parts of the HIDTA region. For instance, the Jackson Heights section of Queens contains the largest Colombian community outside Colombia, and the Washington Heights section of Upper Manhattan--the center of drug activity in the city--is home to a large concentration of Dominican-born residents.

The NY/NJ HIDTA region has a well-developed transportation infrastructure (including interstate highways, international airports, a seaport, and passenger rail and bus services) that is ideally suited for the movement of illicit drugs and drug proceeds to and from the region. Interstate 95, the major north-south route on the east coast, is most frequently used by traffickers to transport illicit drugs to and from New York City. Drug shipments arriving in the NY/NJ HIDTA region typically are divided into smaller quantities for local distribution within the region and transportation to other areas throughout and outside the region. Drugs supplied to Upstate New York are typically transported by traffickers along I-87 and I-90. Illicit drugs also are transported overland to the region from the West Coast, Southwest Border states, and Canada. John F. Kennedy (JFK) International, LaGuardia, and Newark Liberty International Airports offer numerous flights daily to and from the region, and drug traffickers often exploit them to facilitate drug transportation. The Port of New York/New Jersey is the largest container port complex on the east coast of North America and provides opportunities for maritime smuggling. Additionally, New York has an extensive intercity passenger rail system that enables drug traffickers to freely move throughout the city to supply drug markets.

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Drug Threat Overview

The NY/NJ HIDTA region is a national distribution center for illicit drugs, primarily cocaine, heroin, and marijuana. Multikilogram to metric ton quantities of these drugs are transported to the region from drug source and transit countries such as Canada, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico as well as from domestic locations such as Florida, Georgia, Puerto Rico, and the Southwest Border area. Wholesale quantities of illicit drugs that enter the region are typically divided into smaller quantities for further distribution within the region or in drug markets throughout the Northeast, Southeast, and the Midwest.

Cocaine and heroin pose the most significant drug threats to the NY/NJ HIDTA region. Cocaine is the greatest threat to the New York section of the HIDTA region; heroin is the greatest threat to the New Jersey section. Powder cocaine is frequently abused throughout the NY/NJ HIDTA region; crack cocaine distribution poses an increasing threat to New York City and the Upstate New York counties, particularly as a result of the involvement of several violent street gangs in the drug's distribution. Cocaine availability decreased in the region during the first half of 2007, the result of large seizures of cocaine in transit to the United States, successful law enforcement efforts against prominent Mexican DTOs, violent conflicts in Mexico among competing Mexican DTOs, and increased demand for cocaine in non-U.S. markets. Cocaine availability returned to preshortage levels during the third quarter of 2007, but some law enforcement sources report that cocaine availability again declined in the latter part of 2007. Moreover, some law enforcement officials in the NY/NJ HIDTA region report that availability did not actually decline, but that some suppliers were manipulating supply to drive up prices. Heroin is frequently abused in the region, and its abuse has spread to new and younger populations. The number of heroin-related treatment admissions to publicly funded facilities in the region far exceeds that of any other drug, and heroin milling⁴ is increasing in the HIDTA region.

Other illegal drugs pose a serious threat to the NY/NJ HIDTA region. Marijuana is the most commonly abused drug in the region. High-potency Canadian and locally produced marijuana are increasing in availability throughout the region in large part because of an increasing demand for high-potency marijuana among young people and college students. Crystal methamphetamine⁵ poses a lesser, yet increasing, threat to the HIDTA region; abusers often use Internet bulletin boards and community forums to find and communicate with sources of supply. Diverted pharmaceutical abuse is rising in the NY/NJ HIDTA region, particularly among teens and young adults. MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, also known as ecstasy) is readily available in the region, primarily through Canada-based Asian sources of supply. Other dangerous drugs (ODDs), such as ketamine and PCP (phencyclidine), pose a relatively low overall threat compared with most other available drugs; however, some law enforcement sources report that ketamine has become a drug of choice in a number of Asian communities in New York.

End Notes

1. For the purposes of this report, Upstate New York refers to the area of New York State outside the area of New York City, Long Island, and Westchester County. Areas referred to as being located in western New York (Buffalo, etc.) are included in Upstate New York.
2. The NY/NJ HIDTA recently expanded to include the counties of Albany, Erie, Monroe, and Onondaga in Upstate New York. These counties have been added to the HIDTA region because of their emerging role as key distribution centers for illicit drugs originating in New York City and because of the increasing presence of New York City-based drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) in the counties.
3. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the 2006 estimated population of the New York metropolitan area is 44 percent Caucasian, 25 percent African American, 28 percent Hispanic, 12 percent Asian and Pacific Islander, and less than 1 percent Native American, Eskimo, or Aleut.
4. Milling refers to the repackaging of heroin into retail quantities.
5. Law enforcement and treatment authorities in the New York/New Jersey (NY/NJ) High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) region use the term crystal methamphetamine to refer both to powder methamphetamine that has been recrystallized and high-purity ice methamphetamine. Recrystallized powder is the form most commonly found in the NY/NJ HIDTA region.

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