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Drug Situation: Mexican poly-drug trafficking organizations control a large majority of the distribution of methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana in Kansas. Various organizations with ties to Texas, Arizona and California continue to distribute drugs throughout the state. Other organized criminal groups, such as Asian DTOs and Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs are also involved with distribution in Kansas, but to a lesser degree.

Cocaine: Both cocaine HCl and crack cocaine are readily available throughout the state of Kansas. Cocaine typically comes from sources of supply in Texas and California that are associated with Mexican international distribution organizations. Much of the cocaine is converted to crack, packaged in plastic bags, and sold in the inner-city areas. Hispanic traffickers control the wholesale distribution of cocaine, while many ethnic groups participate in retail level distribution. While most of the cocaine seized in the Kansas City DO (KCDO) area of responsibility can be traced to organizations in Texas, other seizures have been tied to the Phoenix, Arizona area. The KCDO reports that Kansas City also serves as a transshipment point for cocaine being shipped to Dayton, Ohio; Chicago, Illinois; Detroit, Michigan; New York, New York; and to cities in New Jersey.

Heroin: The availability of Mexican black tar heroin in most of Kansas remains limited to small, user quantities, although larger quantities can be found in cities such as Wichita and Kansas City. Law enforcement indicates that there is little or no heroin present in western Kansas and only limited availability in the Topeka area. Although a few shipments of white heroin have been interdicted in Kansas, they were destined for locations outside the state, and there are no indications that white heroin is being sold or abused in Kansas.

Methamphetamine: Crystal or “ice” methamphetamine, produced and trafficked by Mexican DTOs, is predominant throughout Kansas. Imported Mexican methamphetamine is generally high in purity and relatively inexpensive. In the past several years, legislation in Kansas has limited the ability of local laboratory operators to purchase the pseudoephedrine products necessary to produce methamphetamine, but small toxic laboratories are still found throughout the state. Most of these laboratories operate using the “birch” method and can be found in many different locations, including residences, hotels, vehicles, and remote farm areas. The laboratory operators continue to purchase the necessary ingredients by going from store to store purchasing the maximum allowable amounts (a process known as “smurfing”) and stealing other ingredients such as anhydrous ammonia.

Predatory Drugs: MDMA (ecstasy) remains available in limited quantities throughout the state of Kansas. It remains popular with young users, such as teenagers and young adults. It also remains very popular in the homosexual community, where it is often abused in conjunction with methamphetamine and/or Viagra. The sources of supply for MDMA in Kansas are often Asian traffickers.

Marijuana: Marijuana remains the most widely abused illegal substance in Kansas. Mexican traffickers dominate the marijuana market in the state, transporting large loads of lower grade marijuana via the Interstate highway system. Indoor cultivation, including hydroponically grown marijuana, continues to be a concern in all areas. The hydroponic marijuana is in strong demand due to its higher potency and commands a much higher price than Mexican marijuana. Kansas City also remains a significant staging area for Mexican marijuana shipped from cities on the southwest border to other parts of the United States.

Other Drugs: PCP remains available in the Kansas City and Wichita areas. It is found in the African-American neighborhoods of the larger cities and is usually abused in the form of “wet,” which is cigarettes or marijuana dipped in the PCP. Sources for the PCP are usually street gangs based in Southern California.

Pharmaceutical Diversion: OxyContin continues to be the pharmaceutical drug of choice in the state of Kansas. It is favored by its users over street drugs such as heroin due to the consistent purity and quality. Kansas lists Oxycodone products as the third most abused pharmaceutical drug. Hydrocodone is another pharmaceutical product that is commonly abused. Other substances cited include: Alprazolam, Benzodiazepine, Demerol, Dilaudid, Lortab, Methylphenidate, Morphine, Nubaine, Percocet, Percodan, Phenobarbitol, Phentermine, Prozac, Tylox, Valium, Vicodin, and Xanax. The most common methods for obtaining these substances continue to be doctor shopping, prescription forgeries, pharmacy break-ins, employee theft, and internet pharmacy websites. Mexican manufactured Fentanyl has not been found in Kansas at this time.

DEA Mobile Enforcement Teams: MET had a deployment from August 05, 2005 through March 05, 2006. Another MET operation will take place in Missouri at the beginning of 2007.

DEA Regional Enforcement Teams: This program was designed to augment existing DEA division resources by targeting drug organizations operating in the United States where there is a lack of sufficient local drug law enforcement. This program was conceived in 1999 in response to the threat posed by drug trafficking organizations that have established networks of cells to conduct drug trafficking operations in smaller, non-traditional trafficking locations in the United States. As of January 31, 2005, there have been 27 deployments nationwide, and one deployment in the U.S. Virgin Islands, resulting in 671 arrests. There have been no RET deployments in the state of Kansas.

Special Topics:

Transportation: Kansas City is located near the geographic center of the United States where several of the nation’s busiest highways (I-29, I-35, and I-70) intersect, and is a major transit point for the vehicular transportation of illicit drugs and drug proceeds to and from significant market areas across the nation. This is one of the most active Operation Pipeline programs in the country. Great success has been attained in initiating cases and effecting substantial seizures and arrests which often attack the highest levels of drug trafficking. Frequently, the St. Louis Division follows up on Pipeline seizures and plays a facilitator’s role by conducting controlled deliveries to other Divisions. In addition, intelligence gathered from these interdictions is used to further ongoing investigations.

The Kansas City metropolitan area has one of the largest railroad hubs in the United States, which is sometimes exploited by drug traffickers. Kansas City is served by four of the eight Class I railroads (Burlington Northern and Santa Fe, Kansas City Southern, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific) as well as regional carriers (Gateway Western, I & M Rail Link, and Missouri and Northern Arkansas). Significant seizures of drugs and drug proceeds occur at passenger bus and rail terminals in the Kansas City area.

Financial/Money Laundering: The Kansas City DO reports incidents of drug proceeds being exchanged through local businesses, including casinos, for larger denomination bills. This reduces the size of bulk currency shipments, typically transported in privately owned vehicles. Both the transportation of bulk cash in vehicles and the use of wire transfer companies remain popular with drug trafficking organizations.

More information about the St. Louis Division Office.

Sources

Factsheet last updated: 3/2008

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