National Drug Intelligence Center   West Texas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis 2008   May 2008

Abuse

Illicit drug abuse in the West Texas HIDTA region takes place primarily in El Paso, the HIDTA region's population center. Drug-related admissions in El Paso County decreased slightly overall from 2005 to 2007. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), most drug-related treatment admissions to publicly funded facilities in the HIDTA region occur in El Paso County and are for powder cocaine and heroin abuse. Powder cocaine-related admissions decreased from 2005 to 2007, while crack cocaine-related admissions remained stable, with a peak in admissions for both drugs occurring in 2006. This pattern of treatment admissions is similar to a trend in drug seizures in the HIDTA during this time period; cocaine seizures peaked in 2006 but decreased overall from 2005 to 2007. (See Table 1 in Distribution section and Table 2, below.) The scattered and sparse population in areas outside El Paso precludes collection of accurate information pertaining to drug abuse in other counties of the HIDTA region. However, Texas DSHS reporting does reveal that treatment admissions appear to be low in these counties; most have fewer than 10 reported treatment admissions each year.

Table 2. Drug-Related Treatment Admissions to Publicly Funded Facilities in El Paso County, 2005-2007

Source: Texas Department of State Health Services.

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Illicit Finance

Bulk cash smuggling is the primary method used by traffickers to move drug proceeds from the West Texas HIDTA region to Mexico, as a result of the area's proximity to the border, the limited inspections of southbound traffic by U.S. and Mexican law enforcement officers, and the relative ease with which cash can be placed into Mexican financial systems. It is difficult to assess the quantity of U.S. currency transported from market areas through the HIDTA region to Mexico as a result of the limited inspection of southbound traffic. However, seizure data indicate that large quantities, some totaling $1 million or more, are smuggled through the area. For example, in January 2008 the El Paso County Sheriff's Office seized approximately $1 million from a tractor-trailer during a routine traffic stop on I-10 in eastern El Paso County. Additionally, the Texas Department of Public Safety seized over $2 million concealed behind a flat screen television in a van on U.S. Highway 54 in El Paso in May 2007. When bulk cash is transported through the West Texas HIDTA region and smuggled across the Southwest Border, it is further processed in any of the following ways: individuals deposit the cash into banks and casas de cambio (exchange houses)¹⁰ in Mexico and electronically wire it back to the United States; complicit Mexican financial institutions repatriate the cash to the United States using cash couriers, armored cars, or deposits into correspondent accounts; smugglers transport the money to Venezuela, Panama, Costa Rica, or other Latin American countries, where it can be used to pay for goods--both legitimate and illicit--on the black market in Colombia; or individuals move the funds to offshore jurisdictions in which bank secrecy regulations are strict.¹¹

Mexican DTOs operating in the West Texas HIDTA region also use traditional depository financial institutions (DFIs) and money services businesses (MSBs), such as money transmitters and casas de cambio located in the area, to launder drug proceeds within the HIDTA region, although to a much lesser extent. DFIs and MSBs are used to a much greater degree in Mexico, where bulk currency smuggled through West Texas into Mexico is processed and often sent back to the United States.

End Notes

10. Because of strict Texas laws and their associated robust enforcement, DTOs use casas de cambio located in Mexico rather than in Texas to launder drug proceeds.
11. A correspondent account is established by a foreign bank at a financial institution in the United States in order to conduct business in the United States without maintaining a physical presence. This account is used to receive deposits from, make payments or other disbursements on behalf of, or handle other financial transactions related to the foreign bank.

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