Heroin

Heroin poses a threat to Utah. Mexican black tar heroin and brown powdered heroin are the predominant types available in the state; Southeast Asian heroin is available in very limited quantities. Mexican criminal groups, the primary transporters and wholesale distributors of heroin in Utah, transport the drug from transshipment points in California and Arizona and directly from Mexico. These groups typically transport the drug using private and rental vehicles and commercial trucks. In rural areas of the state, Mexican criminal groups distribute heroin at the retail level, and in metropolitan areas street gangs are the primary retail distributors.

Abuse

The number of heroin-related treatment admissions to publicly funded facilities has remained relatively stable in Utah, particularly in Salt Lake County. Data from the Utah Division of Substance Abuse indicate that heroin-related treatment admissions increased but only slightly from 1,524 in FY1997 to 1,567 in FY2001. (See Table 2 in Methamphetamine section.) During that period nearly 80 percent of all admissions for the treatment of heroin abuse statewide were in Salt Lake County. In addition, healthcare providers in Salt Lake County report that heroin-related treatment admissions accounted for more than 10 percent of all drug- and alcohol-related admissions in FY2001; this represented the highest percentage of treatment admissions for heroin abuse in the state.

Heroin abuse among young people poses concerns for law enforcement and healthcare professionals in Utah. The percentage of Utah high school students who reported having abused heroin at least once in their lifetime is comparable to the percentage nationwide. According to 2001 YRBS data, 2.7 percent of high school students surveyed in Utah reported lifetime heroin abuse, compared with 3.1 percent of high school students in the United States.

Heroin abuse increasingly is associated with drug-related deaths in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. According to DAWN mortality data, the number of deaths in which heroin was a factor increased significantly from 43 in 1996 to 80 in 2000. (See Table 3 in Methamphetamine section.) In 2000 heroin was a factor in more drug-related related deaths in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area than any other illicit drug.

According to ADAM data, 6.6 percent of adult male arrestees in Salt Lake City tested positive for heroin in 2000. Among adult male arrestees in Salt Lake City, 11.5 percent of African Americans, 7.9 percent of Caucasians, and 5.0 percent of Hispanics tested positive for the drug.

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Availability

Heroin is increasingly available in Utah in ounce and multiounce quantities, primarily in the metropolitan areas. In 2002 the Cache/Rich Drug Task Force, Central Utah Narcotics Strike Force, Davis County Metro Drug Task Force, Salt Lake County Metro Narcotics Task Force, Utah County Major Crimes Strike Force, and Weber/Morgan Drug Task Force reported significant increases in the availability of Mexican black tar heroin and brown powdered heroin in their jurisdictions. Mexican black tar heroin and brown powdered heroin are the types most commonly available in the state; Southeast Asian heroin is available in very limited quantities.

As the availability of heroin has increased, the prices have decreased. During the first quarter of FY2003, DEA reported that Mexican black tar heroin and brown powdered heroin sold for $1,800 per ounce and $50 to $80 per gram in the Salt Lake City area--down from $100 to $150 per gram in the first quarter of FY2002. In 2001 the Davis County Metro Narcotics Task Force (which covers Davis County) and Wasatch Range Task Force (which covers most of north central Utah including Ogden, Provo, and Salt Lake City) reported that heroin sold for $2,500 to $2,700 per ounce in their jurisdictions. Also in 2001 state and local law enforcement authorities throughout Utah reported prices of $60 to $400 per gram. According to the DEA Denver Division, wholesale distributors typically maintain supplies of up to 2 kilograms but generally do not sell quantities of more than 30 grams. In the first quarter of FY2002, the DEA Salt Lake City Resident Office reported that the retail purity of Mexican black tar heroin and brown powdered heroin was approximately 75 percent, and state and local law enforcement agencies in the state reported that retail purity ranged from 8 to 64 percent.

Despite the increasing availability of heroin in Utah, seizures remain relatively low. According to FDSS data, heroin seizures by federal law enforcement officials in Utah decreased from nearly 2 kilograms in 1998 to less than one-half kilogram in 2001. (See Table 4 in Methamphetamine section.) Law enforcement officials in Utah did not report any heroin seizures to Operation Pipeline in 1999 and 2001; however, in 2000 they reported seizing approximately 5 kilograms of heroin.

USSC data show that in Utah there were 12 federal sentences for heroin-related offenses from FY1997 through FY2001. In FY2001 heroin accounted for 1.2 percent of all drug-related federal sentences in Utah, compared with 7.2 percent nationwide. (See Table 1 in Overview section.)

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Violence

Violence usually is not associated with the abuse or distribution of heroin in Utah. Nevertheless, some street gangs that distribute heroin in metropolitan areas of the state use violence in the course of conducting drug distribution activities and defending their territory. Several police departments in Utah report that these distributors commit assault against both civilians and law enforcement officers, carjacking, drive-by shooting, and homicide. Heroin abusers are generally nonviolent, although some commit burglary or robbery to support their addiction.

According to ADAM data, 4.6 percent of adult males arrested for violent crimes in Salt Lake City in 2000 tested positive for heroin abuse.

Production

Opium is not cultivated nor is heroin produced in Utah. Heroin is produced primarily in four source regions: South America, Southeast Asia, Southwest Asia, and Mexico. Most of the heroin available in Utah is Mexican black tar heroin or brown powdered heroin. Southeast Asian heroin is available in very limited quantities.

Transportation

Mexican criminal groups are the primary transporters of heroin into and through Utah. These criminal groups transport ounce and multiounce quantities of heroin from transshipment points in California and, to a lesser extent, Arizona as well as directly from Mexico. They typically transport heroin to Utah on I-15 and other roadways in private and rental vehicles and commercial trucks. Most of the heroin seized in Utah is transported from Southern California and is destined for other states.

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Distribution

Mexican criminal groups dominate the wholesale distribution of heroin in Utah. These criminal groups have adopted the same hierarchically structured, family-based system that is used by distributors of cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine. According to Utah law enforcement authorities, Mexican criminal groups sell heroin to midlevel distributors--typically family members, close friends, or associates who are members of other Mexican criminal groups. These groups also sell retail quantities of the drug to individuals who are known heroin abusers. In order to prove that they are regular users of the drug, these individuals must show the distributor their "tracks"--black lines and dark scars on an abuser's arms or legs that are signs of continued intravenous abuse of heroin. In metropolitan areas of the state, Mexican criminal groups acting as midlevel distributors sell heroin to street gangs, and in rural areas of Utah these criminal groups sell the drug at the retail level.

Street gangs are the primary retail distributors of heroin in the metropolitan areas of Utah. Most street gangs in these areas purchase ounce or multiounce quantities of the drug from Mexican criminal groups who operate at the midlevel. Law enforcement respondents to the National Gang Survey 2000 reported that heroin is distributed at the retail level by numerous street gangs including Alley Boys, Armenian Mafia Gang, Sureņos 13, and Sureņos Chiques in the Salt Lake City area; Brown Society Gangsters in Davis County; and QVO and Alley Boys in West Valley City.

Heroin is distributed in a variety of ways in Utah. According to the DEA Denver Division, as previously stated, most wholesale and midlevel distributors of the drug maintain supplies of less than 2 kilograms and sell quantities of 30 grams or less to retailers. In an effort to avoid law enforcement scrutiny, retail distributors often conduct sales indoors. In many metropolitan areas of the state, heroin is distributed at the retail level from automotive repair shops, bars, private residences, and some restaurants. Larger quantities--1 ounce or more--are packaged in small plastic bags or wrapped in aluminum foil. Personal use quantities (1 gram or less) often are bundled in packages of smaller units and wrapped in cellophane or put in a plastic bag.

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