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The South Florida HIDTA region is a principal U.S. arrival zone for cocaine and SA heroin; it is also a distribution center for powder cocaine, SA heroin, marijuana, and pharmaceutical drugs intended for distribution throughout the eastern United States. As such, traffickers use numerous methods and means of conveyance to transport illicit drugs into, through, and from the South Florida HIDTA region.
Drug traffickers commonly transport illicit drugs into, through, and from the South Florida HIDTA region in private and commercial vehicles traveling on interstate, state, and local roadways; they often conceal significant quantities of illicit drugs in hidden compartments or in shipments of legitimate goods. For instance, Mexican DTOs transport large quantities of powder cocaine, heroin, Mexican commercial-grade marijuana, and Mexican ice methamphetamine into the region from Atlanta and Southwest Border states using private and commercial vehicles on I-75 and I-95; these DTOs also transport drug proceeds back to the Southwest Border using the same means. Additionally, Colombian DTOs employ couriers, including members of Cuban, Dominican, Puerto Rican, and Venezuelan DTOs and criminal groups, to transport SA heroin and cocaine from the South Florida HIDTA region to markets in central Florida and eastern states, such as Massachusetts and New York, by vehicle.
Figure 2. South Florida HIDTA transportation infrastructure.
DTOs also transport large quantities of illicit drugs, particularly powder cocaine, marijuana, and SA heroin, into and from the South Florida HIDTA region on commercial flights transiting the Miami International Airport and the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. According to NSS data, law enforcement officials seized 417 kilograms of powder cocaine, 118,200 milliliters of liquid cocaine, 388 kilograms of marijuana, and 77 kilograms of heroin at the Miami International Airport and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in 2007; the majority of these drugs were seized at the Miami International Airport.
A number of DTOs and criminal groups transport cocaine, SA heroin, marijuana, and MDMA into the region using maritime means such as container ships, cruise ships, commercial fishing vessels, and recreational vessels. For example, on January 18, 2008, the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted the Black Widow, a recreational vessel loitering almost 2 miles off the coast of Port Everglades in Broward County. Coast Guard personnel boarded the vessel, which was occupied by two Bahamian nationals, and seized more than 2,000 pounds of suspected marijuana and approximately 9 kilograms of cocaine. The U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of Florida shortly thereafter charged the two Bahamian nationals with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana, conspiracy to import into the United States cocaine and marijuana, possession with intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana, and importation of cocaine and marijuana into the United States.
Traffickers and some abusers also transport illicit drugs, including marijuana, methamphetamine, and pharmaceutical drugs, into and from the South Florida HIDTA region using the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and package delivery services. For instance, law enforcement officials in the region report that indoor cannabis growers in the region use package delivery services to supply high-potency marijuana to distributors and abusers in the region and in eastern drug markets, including those in Georgia, Massachusetts, and New York. Traffickers also use USPS and package delivery services to transport illicit drug proceeds from the region to their sources of supply.
Colombian DTOs routinely use the South Florida HIDTA region as a national-level distribution center for powder cocaine and SA heroin destined for eastern drug markets, including markets in Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and North Carolina; a number of traffickers also use the region as a distribution center for marijuana and pharmaceutical drugs to many of these areas. Most midlevel and retail-level distributors in southern Florida and some areas of the southeast rely on Colombian DTOs as their primary source for cocaine and SA heroin. Law enforcement officials report that an increasing number of lower-level traffickers in South Florida are acquiring supplies of some drugs, particularly commercial-grade marijuana and ice methamphetamine, from Mexican DTOs.
Various DTOs, criminal groups, street gangs, and local independent dealers distribute illicit drugs at the midlevel and retail level in the region (see Table 2). Their methods of operation change little from year to year. Retail-level distribution typically takes place at open-air drug markets, in local clubs, apartment buildings, local motels, vehicles, on local beaches, and at prearranged meeting sites such as parking lots.
Table 2. Retail-Level Drug Distribution in the South Florida HIDTA Region, 2008
| Retail Distributors | Drugs |
|---|---|
| African American | Powder and crack cocaine, heroin, MDMA, marijuana, and diverted pharmaceuticals |
| Caucasian | Powder cocaine, GHB, MDMA, marijuana, methamphetamine, and diverted pharmaceuticals |
| Cuban | Powder cocaine, SA heroin, marijuana, and MDMA |
| Haitian | Powder cocaine, heroin, and marijuana |
| Jamaican | Powder and crack cocaine and marijuana |
| Other Hispanics | Powder cocaine, marijuana, and ice methamphetamine |
Source: South Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.
Drug distributors facilitate drug sales in the South Florida HIDTA region using electronic communications, primarily cellular telephones and the Internet. Drug traffickers typically use disposable cellular telephones and those that are activated through prepaid calling cards. Most traffickers use such cell phones for a limited time to reduce the risk of having conversations monitored by law enforcement personnel. Additionally, data from a 2007 Florida Department of Law Enforcement gang survey reveals that street gang members frequently use Internet social networking sites such as MySpace.com, hi5.com, Niggaspace.com, Youtube.com, and cpixel.com to recruit members, share information, and communicate by instant messaging. Street gangs also communicate using two-way radios, radio frequency scanners, and cellular telephones with push-to-talk capabilities. They also use text messaging capabilities on these telephones.
South Florida is emerging as a significant source area for diverted pharmaceutical drugs. Distributors and abusers from markets in other areas of the country, including Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina, often travel to the region to purchase diverted pharmaceutical drugs from various distributors and pain management clinics; they also use the Internet to order pharmaceuticals from Florida-based Internet pharmacies. For instance, a Florida man was sentenced to 235 months' imprisonment and a Massachusetts man was sentenced to 168 months' imprisonment for conspiracy to possess oxycodone with intent to distribute. The Florida man led an oxycodone distribution organization that recruited members to visit various doctors' offices in southern Florida to obtain prescriptions for oxycodone and other controlled substances. He provided members with money to pay the doctors' examination fees, coached the members as to what to say to the doctors to obtain prescriptions for the largest amount of oxycodone, and then paid to have the prescriptions filled at local pharmacies. The members visited numerous doctors each month and obtained prescriptions for as many controlled substances as possible. The organization distributed the oxycodone and other controlled substances to markets outside Florida, including a number of markets in Massachusetts.
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