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DEA
The availability of Southwest Asian heroin has and will
continue to make moderate inroads in U.S. heroin markets; however, it
is unlikely in the near term that Southwest Asian heroin will challenge
or surpass South American heroin as the primary type of white powder
heroin available in U.S. markets.
South American heroin has been the most readily available
white powder heroin in the United States for at least the past decade.
Prior to the introduction of South American heroin in the mid-1990s,
heroin from Southeast Asia was the dominant type of white powder heroin
available. Heroin from Southwest Asia has not dominated the market in
the United States since the early 1980s. Nonetheless, Southwest Asian
heroin remains available in some U.S. heroin markets, primarily large
metropolitan areas including Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Atlanta, and
New York City, and in recent years, availability appears to have increased
slightly.
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Southwest Asia, more specifically Afghanistan, is and
will remain, at least for the near term, the world's largest producer
of illicit opium. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
estimates that 6,100 metric tons of opium were harvested in Afghanistan
in 2006, accounting for roughly 92 percent of global cultivation. Heroin
produced from Afghan opium is consumed by large heroin addict populations
throughout Eurasia, southeastern Asia, and increasingly sub-Saharan
and West Africa. Law enforcement reporting indicates that only limited
quantities of Southwest Asian heroin reach white powder heroin markets
in the United States and that the likelihood of Southwest Asian heroin
gaining anything more than a proportionately small share of the U.S.
market is limited.
Two Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) programs,
the Heroin Signature Program (HSP) and the Heroin Domestic Monitor Program
(HDMP), provide indicators of the geographic origins of heroin available
at wholesale and retail levels in the United States. In both programs,
heroin samples are subject to in-depth chemical analysis to determine,
among other things, the geographic source areas of the heroin. Under
the HSP, the DEA Special Testing and Research Laboratory analyzes heroin
samples primarily from port of entry (POE) seizures, as well as a random
sample of other seizures and purchases submitted to DEA laboratories,
to determine source areas. The HSP examines the wholesale level of the
trade. The HDMP is a heroin purchase program designed to identify the
purity, price, and source of origin of retail-level heroin available
in 28 major U.S. metropolitan markets. It should be noted that while
both programs provide indicators, results do not correlate with actual
market share.
A review of HSP results through 2004, the latest year
for which such data are available, indicates that Southwest Asian heroin
currently accounts for only a small proportion of the heroin analyzed
under the auspices of the program. Until 1992, a significant portion
of the heroin analyzed under the HSP was determined to be of Southwest
Asian origin. In fact, from 1980 to 1985 a greater proportion of heroin
analyzed was determined to be of Southwest Asian origin than any other
type. From 1986 through 1992, the proportion of Southwest Asian heroin
was surpassed by other types of heroin, namely Mexican heroin, Southeast
Asian heroin, or both types. Nonetheless, the proportion of Southwest
Asian heroin ranged from 17 percent to 36 percent of the heroin seized
under the program. In 1993, when a signature was identified for South
American heroin, the proportion of Southwest Asian heroin identified
under the HSP dropped considerably to just 9 percent. Since that time,
aside from 1996 when 20 percent of the heroin identified under the program
was of Southwest Asian origin, the percentage of Southwest Asian heroin
has not exceeded 16 percent. (See Figure 1.)
Figure
1. Heroin Signature Program Data, 1993-2004, Geographic Source
Area Distribution by Percentage.
Source: Drug Enforcement
Administration.
*Actual percentage for Southeast Asia for 2003 was less than 1.
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Figure
2. Estimates of Heroin Production by Geographic Source Area
in Metric Tons, 1993-2005.
Source: Crime and
Narcotics Center.
*An estimate was not available for South America in 1993, 1994,
and 2005.
A review of HDMP data from 2000 to 2005, the latest
year for which such data are available, indicates that the number of
Southwest Asian heroin samples under the auspices of the HDMP is relatively
low. From 2000 through 2005, the number of qualified samples determined
to be Southwest Asian heroin accounted for less than 5 percent of the
qualified samples analyzed in each of those years. In comparison, a
preponderance of the samples analyzed was determined to be South American
heroin, followed by Mexican heroin. Less than 2 percent of qualified
samples in each of those years were determined to be Southeast Asian
heroin. (See Table 1.)
Table 1. Cities
With Heroin Domestic Monitor Program Purchases of Southwest Asian
Heroin, 2000-2005
|
City |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
|
Atlanta |
4 |
1 |
4 |
7 |
1 |
5 |
|
Baltimore |
1 |
6 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
|
Chicago |
5 |
7 |
4 |
8 |
1 |
2 |
|
Detroit |
6 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
8 |
3 |
|
Miami |
1 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
Newark |
1 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
New Orleans |
-- |
1 |
1 |
-- |
3 |
1 |
|
New York |
3 |
-- |
1 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
|
Richmond |
-- |
-- |
-- |
1 |
1 |
-- |
|
St. Louis |
-- |
-- |
-- |
7 |
--
|
4 |
|
Washington, D.C. |
5 |
11 |
6 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
|
Total Southwest Asian heroin |
26 |
29 |
22 |
33 |
19 |
23 |
|
Total qualified samples |
672 |
766 |
614 |
822 |
790 |
704 |
Source: Drug Enforcement
Administration.
HDMP results from 2000 through 2005 are consistent with
law enforcement reporting, indicating that Southwest Asian heroin is
available in a limited number of markets throughout the country and
that availability in those markets has remained relatively consistent
in recent years. Limited quantities of Southwest Asian heroin are available
in various cities, including Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, and
New York City. South American and, occasionally, Southeast Asian white
powder heroin is also available in each of those markets. Consequently,
it is difficult to determine specific ratios of each type of white powder
heroin, i.e., South American, Southwest Asian, or Southeast Asian, because
in many cases law enforcement personnel cannot or do not attempt to
distinguish between the different types. Further complicating the issue
is the fact that white powder heroin is generically and collectively
referred to as China white. The generic use of the term “China white”
has inadvertently contributed to a misperception that the term refers
to heroin produced in Asia when, in fact, it refers only to the fact
that the heroin is in white powder form and could have been produced
in Southeast Asia, Southwest Asia, or South America. Thus, recent anecdotal
law enforcement reporting that has suggested increased occurrences of
China white heroin should be viewed cautiously, since signature analysis
is the only definitive method to determine the source area of heroin.
That said, the possibility exists that the availability of Southwest
Asian heroin is more pervasive than is suggested by the indicator programs,
although there is little doubt that South American heroin dominates
the white powder heroin market in the United States.
Law enforcement and intelligence reporting indicates
that primarily West African and Pakistani but also East European, Middle
Eastern, and Russian criminal groups transport limited quantities of
Southwest Asian heroin to the United States, typically using couriers
on commercial aircraft or via cargo and express mail services. Couriers
transport Southwest Asian heroin through major international airports
in the United States, including those in New York, Newark, Chicago,
Atlanta, Houston, and Los Angeles. Most Southwest Asian heroin transported
through Houston and Los Angeles is quite likely destined for markets
in the eastern United States, including Chicago and New York.
Southwest Asian heroin is available at the wholesale
level in Chicago, Detroit, and New York. Pakistanis and West Africans
are the primary wholesale distributors of Southwest Asian heroin in
New York, which is a source of supply for Southwest Asian heroin distributed
at retail level in cities in the eastern United States. Nigerian criminal
groups in Chicago use couriers to transport Southwest Asian heroin to
Chicago via Europe and Africa and are the primary wholesale distributors
of Southwest Asian heroin in the area. Chicago serves as a source of
supply for Southwest Asian heroin distributed at the retail level in
a limited number of cities in the Midwest, including St. Louis. Southwest
Asian heroin is distributed at the retail level in the Detroit and Atlanta
metropolitan areas. Beyond these niche markets, the availability of
Southwest Asian heroin appears to be limited.
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Analysis of law enforcement and intelligence reporting--including
the HSP and HDMP, the two primary heroin indicator programs--indicates
that despite significant increased opium production in Afghanistan,
the availability of Southwest Asian heroin in the United States will
remain at stable, low levels in the near term. White heroin produced
in South America appears sufficient to supply the demand for white powder
heroin in the United States. Colombian and Dominican traffickers, and
increasingly Mexican traffickers, are the primary wholesale distributors
of white powder heroin and maintain well-established transportation
and distribution networks to ensure a consistent flow of South American
heroin to U.S. markets. Conversely, transportation and distribution
networks necessary to significantly increase the availability of Southwest
Asian heroin in the United States appear limited at best. A significant
interruption in the availability of high purity South American heroin
could present the opportunity for increased availability of Southwest
Asian heroin in the United States. However, it is unlikely that unless
the interruption is both significant and sustained, the availability
of Southwest Asian heroin will expand beyond its current niche markets.
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Numerous state and local law enforcement agencies throughout
the United States provided valuable input to this report through their
participation in interviews with NDIC field program specialists.
Central Intelligence Agency
Crime and Narcotics Center
Executive Office of the President
Office of National Drug Control Policy
High Intensity Drug Trafficking
Areas
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
U.S. Department of Justice
Criminal Division
Organized Crime Drug Enforcement
Task Force
Drug Enforcement Administration
Federal Bureau of Investigation
U.S. Department of State
International Narcotics Control Strategy Report
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