To
Contents
To Previous Page
To Next Page
To Publications Page
To Home Page
National Drug Intelligence
Center |
Violent crime and property crime in the HIDTA region are often associated with the distribution and abuse of illicit drugs, particularly ice methamphetamine. Nineteen of the 20 state and local law enforcement agencies that responded to the National Drug Threat Survey 2007 reported that methamphetamine is the drug most responsible for property crimes in their jurisdictions. For example, the Oregon HIDTA reports that methamphetamine addicts in Portland and Salem often commit thefts, such as stealing and selling copper pipes, to fund their drug habit.
Street gangs are also responsible for many of the violent crimes perpetrated in the HIDTA region. The Portland Metro Gang Task Force reports that street gangs that distribute drugs at the retail level, such as Rollin 60s, Hoovers, and 18th Street, are involved in most of the assaults, robberies, drive-by shootings, home invasions, and homicides that occur in the Portland area. Portland has the largest gang problem in the Oregon HIDTA region.
In addition to drug trafficking, Mexican DTOs and criminal groups engage in various illegal activities in the Oregon HIDTA region, such as human trafficking and illegal gambling. For example, according to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, the Mexican DTO that distributed methamphetamine, powder cocaine, and crack cocaine also operated an illegal cockfighting enterprise in the HIDTA counties of Clackamas and Marion.
Violence associated with cannabis cultivation is a problem in the region. According to the Oregon HIDTA, an increasing number of individuals at outdoor and indoor cannabis cultivation sites are armed in an effort to protect their crops from law enforcement and rival growers. Weapons recovered from outdoor grow sites include assault rifles, shotguns, pistols, and booby traps. Weapons recovered from indoor grows include shotguns and handguns. Because cannabis crop tenders are often armed, these cultivation operations represent a threat to the safety of law enforcement officers and unwitting visitors, hunters, and hikers. Moreover, law enforcement officers in Roseburg have encountered cannabis grow sites in their area.
A variety of money laundering techniques are used by traffickers in the Oregon HIDTA region. Bulk transportation of illicit proceeds is the primary laundering method used by Mexican traffickers, who typically smuggle money to Mexico via private and commercial vehicles. Asian traffickers also employ bulk transport to launder drug proceeds. They smuggle bulk currency to Canada via private and commercial vehicles or to Asian countries via aircraft, maritime conveyances, and package delivery services. Mexican and Asian traffickers also launder drug proceeds through money transmittal businesses located in their own ethnic communities. They own businesses such as import/export operations that function as money remitters either legitimately or illegally. Another method used to launder drug proceeds is the purchase of property such as real estate, cars, electronics, and livestock.
To Top To Contents To Previous Page To Next Page
To Publications Page To Home Page
End of page.