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National Drug Intelligence
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The extensive transportation infrastructure in northern California (which has connections to other regions of the country), particularly the interstate highway system, is routinely exploited by drug traffickers to transport drugs into and throughout the HIDTA region. (See Figure 6). Several major highways provide traffickers with direct access to several routes to drug sources located in other areas of California as well as in Mexico and Canada. Additionally, this highway system enables traffickers to modify transportation routes, adapt to changes in source areas, and counteract law enforcement interdiction operations with limited interruption to supply.
Figure 6. Northern California transportation network.
Traffickers transport illicit drug shipments on I-5, I-80, and other major highways that allow high-speed access to the north, south, and east. Mexican DTOs transport wholesale quantities of illicit drugs into the Northern California HIDTA region using private and commercial vehicles, often equipped with hidden compartments. Local law enforcement has identified several businesses that specialize in the modification of private and commercial delivery vehicles that transport illicit drugs throughout the HIDTA region. For example, in April 2008 law enforcement officers arrested four members of a Mexican DTO who used their local trucking business in Cotati (Sonoma County), California, as a cover for transporting and distributing drugs throughout California. Officers also seized approximately 29 pounds of ice methamphetamine, 1 ounce of cocaine, 1 pound of marijuana, three assault rifles, two shotguns, and three handguns. The estimated street value of the methamphetamine was approximately $1.3 million.
Traffickers also transport a variety of illicit drugs and drug proceeds into and through the HIDTA region through package delivery services and the mail system, particularly from foreign sources. One of only 13 Customs International Mail Branches in the country (and one of three in the western United States) is located in Oakland. The high volume of packages transiting the area, particularly from Asia, makes detection and interdiction efforts at these facilities extremely challenging for U.S. Customs officials.
The use of the Internet to purchase illicit drugs, particularly from foreign suppliers in Europe or Mexico, has also increased transportation by package delivery services and the mail system. The Internet has enabled independent dealers, who historically traveled to Mexico to obtain pharmaceuticals, steroids, or ketamine, to purchase these drugs online. The large number of online suppliers makes tracking illicit purchases through the Internet difficult. In addition, illicit drugs purchased online are commonly paid through Internet pay accounts, which require only limited personal information, further hindering law enforcement efforts.
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