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U.S. Department of Justice
National Drug Intelligence Center
Ohio HIDTA Drug Market Analysis 2010
April 2010
Mexican DTOs, the principal wholesale suppliers of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana in Ohio, are expanding their distribution activities, particularly for Mexican black tar heroin and brown powder heroin. For example, Mexican traffickers are transporting heroin into Fairfield County, supplying distributors from the county who previously traveled to Columbus to purchase heroin from Mexican DTOs. Mexican DTOs also are increasing their distribution of limited amounts of Mexican methamphetamine in the region, particularly in Greene, Lucas, and Stark Counties. African American, Asian, Dominican, and Jamaican DTOs also distribute illicit drugs at the wholesale level in the HIDTA region.
Mexican DTOs are using Columbus and Dayton as regional drug distribution centers, particularly for Mexican heroin that is supplied to markets throughout Ohio and neighboring states. Columbus is a distribution center for Mexican heroin supplied to markets throughout much of Ohio as well as in West Virginia and western Pennsylvania. Mexican traffickers also use Columbus as a distribution center for marijuana and powder cocaine that they distribute in surrounding counties and for powder cocaine distributed in West Virginia. Dayton serves as a source of supply for heroin available in southwestern Ohio markets. Distributors and abusers from other markets in and outside the HIDTA region often travel to Columbus and Dayton to purchase drugs to sell in their home areas.
African American criminal groups and street gangs are the primary retail-level distributors of crack cocaine and marijuana, particularly in urban areas of the Ohio HIDTA region; they are typically supplied by Mexican DTOs. African American criminal groups and street gangs also distribute retail quantities of heroin, powder cocaine, and PCP to varying degrees throughout the HIDTA region. Various other groups and independent dealers also serve as retail-level drug distributors in the region. Puerto Rican criminal groups are the primary retail-level distributors of SA heroin in Mahoning County; they typically are supplied by Dominican DTOs based in New York City. Hispanic street gangs are active in Columbus, where they distribute heroin, cocaine, marijuana, and limited amounts of Mexican methamphetamine.
Independent Caucasian dealers are the principal distributors of CPDs throughout the HIDTA region. These individuals often sell CPDs to obtain money for food or housing. For example, in Fairfield County, many individuals who have been legitimately prescribed OxyContin often use half of the prescription and sell the other half to pay bills. Some CPDs distributed in the HIDTA region are obtained from out-of-state doctors, pharmacies, or pain clinics, most often in Florida, Michigan, and Kentucky. Additionally, individuals from Kentucky, West Virginia, and southern Ohio travel to Columbus to obtain CPDs through unscrupulous physicians to distribute in their home areas.
Law enforcement reporting indicates that cocaine, particularly crack, is the drug that most contributes to violent crime in the Ohio HIDTA region. According to the NDTS 2010, 46 of the 101 state and local law enforcement respondents in the Ohio HIDTA region identify crack cocaine as the drug most associated with violent crime, particularly in the more heavily populated urban areas of the region. (See Figure 4.) Additionally, 51 of the 101 respondents identify heroin as the drug most associated with property crime. (See Figure 5.) Several law enforcement agencies in the HIDTA region report that shoplifting is a primary means by which abusers support their drug habits. For example, in Stark County, abusers often are involved in "boosting," where drug abusers shoplift from local retail stores and then return the stolen items to stores for a refund or a store gift card that is later sold, often for pennies on the dollar, to obtain money to purchase drugs. Additionally, in southern Ohio there have been instances of small retail stores providing drug abusers with lists indicating stolen items that the stores would be willing to purchase.
Figure 4. Drug
Most Associated With Violent Crime in the Ohio HIDTA Region
as Reported by State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, by Number of Respondents
d-link
Source: National Drug Threat Survey 2010.
Figure 5. Drug
Most Associated With Property Crime in the Ohio HIDTA Region
as Reported by State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, by Number of Respondents
d-link
Source: National Drug Threat Survey 2010.
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