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U.S. Department of Justice
National Drug Intelligence Center
Michigan HIDTA Drug Market Analysis 2010
June 2010
The Michigan HIDTA region comprises six counties in eastern Michigan (Genesee, Macomb, Oakland, Saginaw, Washtenaw, and Wayne), and four counties in western Michigan (Allegan, Kalamazoo, Kent, and Van Buren). Saginaw County was added to the HIDTA in 2009, bringing the HIDTA population to approximately 6 million.a (See Figure 1.) The HIDTA counties include the major drug markets of Detroit, Flint, Saginaw, and the Kalamazoo-Grand Rapids area. These markets serve as distribution centers for many smaller drug markets within the HIDTA region and neighboring states.
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1. Michigan High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area
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The Michigan HIDTA region is located between major drug markets in Chicago and New York City and is connected by interstate highways and roads to other domestic drug markets, as well as to source areas along the Southwest Border and in Canada, where the shared international border renders Michigan particularly susceptible to drug smuggling. The Ambassador Bridge, Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, and Michigan Central Railway Tunnel connect Detroit with Windsor, Ontario, Canada, providing numerous opportunities for the cross-border shipment of drugs and currency. (See Figure 2.) Additionally, there are more than 2 million registered watercraft in Michigan and Ontario, some of which are used by traffickers to transport illicit drugs across the extensive maritime border. The Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport and other area airports are also used by couriers transporting drugs into and through the region.
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2. International Border Between Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario
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Detroit, Flint, and Saginaw are the largest drug markets in the eastern counties of the HIDTA. Detroit, in particular, serves as the primary distribution center for illicit drugs transported into and through the HIDTA region from various source locations. Flint is supplied with illicit drugs principally from Detroit, which is located approximately 70 miles south. Saginaw is the northernmost urban area in Michigan and, as such, supplies drug abusers from northern Michigan. Saginaw distributors receive drugs mainly from Detroit, Chicago, and Canada.
Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo are the primary drug markets in the western counties of the HIDTA region. They are located between Chicago and Detroit, the cities of origin for most of the available illicit drugs in these markets. Methamphetamine production in the region occurs primarily in these counties.
a. Reported statistics include Saginaw for all years to allow for comparison.
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