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DEA
Offices & Telephone Nos.
Baton Rouge225-389-0254
Lafayette337-262-6744
Monroe318-651-7117
New Orleans504-840-1100
Shreveport318-676-4080 |
State Facts
Population: 4,523,628
State Prison Population: 36,939
Probation Population: 38,470
Violent Crime Rate
National Ranking: 6 |
2006
Federal Drug Seizures
Cocaine: 548.8 kgs.
Heroin: 4.2 kgs.
Methamphetamine: 5.6 kgs.
Marijuana: 2,792.0 kgs.
Hashish: 0.0 kgs
MDMA: 0.0 kgs/79,842 du
Methamphetamine
Laboratories: 22
(DEA, state, and
local) |
Drug
Situation: Several factors contribute to Louisiana’s
historic position as a drug smuggling center. The Gulf of Mexico,
the fifth largest sea in the world, forms the southern border
of Louisiana which consists of over 6,000 miles of navigable waterways,
7,721 miles of broken shoreline, and 397 miles of coastline highly
conducive to maritime smuggling. In addition to the Mississippi
River that snakes its way through the state, Louisiana has an
extensive network of rivers, lakes, bayous, and canals. The Gulf
Intracoastal Waterway, 3,000 miles of canal extending along the
Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts in the southern and eastern
U.S., gives New Orleans direct access westward to points in Louisiana
and Texas, as far as the Mexican border and eastward through natural
and artificial channels to Florida. In addition, there are three
deepwater ports located in Baton Rouge, Lake Charles and New Orleans.
Each year up to 100,000 barges move in and out of the New Orleans
port, the Nation’s second largest port in exports.
Louisiana’s highways continue to be utilized by Drug Trafficking
Organizations (DTOs) to transport drugs and drug money into and through
the region. The state’s geographic location places it on several
major routes to source cities. Continued drug seizures on highways in
Louisiana and on extensions of those highways in the neighboring states
of Texas and Mississippi indicate that the problem is not decreasing,
in spite of increased law enforcement pressure.
With the adoption
of NAFTA, Mexican drug cartels have taken advantage of the increased
cross-border
commercial traffic. Also with the privatization
of Mexico’s railroads, the potential for the utilization of the
rail system to transport drugs into Louisiana, particularly Baton Rouge
and Shreveport due to their large switching stations, is notable.
New Orleans is an intermodal city located at the junction where the
inland river system, the Intercoastal Waterway System, the national railroad
system and the national highway system converge. The availability of
this intermodal transportation system is attractive to worldwide shippers
and serves as a natural gateway to the United States. The program/destination
of cargo received into the Port of New Orleans comes from the American
Midwest (via inland waterway systems), Latin America, Asia, Europe and
Africa. Trade between the United States and Latin America is expected
to flourish over the next two decades. Studies are underway to build
bigger and better port facilities to meet future needs. Port authorities
hope to increase their share of the container traffic from the Gulf of
Mexico as a result of the improvements, thus creating an increased drug
threat to this area. Cocaine:
Cocaine, primarily crack, is the predominant drug threat in Louisiana.
The threat is derived from the high rate of addiction and violence associated
with the drug. Cocaine is widely available and frequently distributed
across the state. Cocaine abuse is reported in the metropolitan cities
and rural areas. The abuse and distribution of cocaine is associated
with many incidents involving violent crimes. Most of the powdered cocaine
transported into Louisiana is converted into crack cocaine. Mexican DTOs
and Black-American criminal groups transport the majority of the powdered
cocaine into Louisiana. DTOs and criminal groups are the primary wholesale
distributors of powdered cocaine. Black American street gangs and local
Black American independent dealers are the chief distributors of crack
at the retail level.
Heroin:
Heroin is considered a low drug threat in most of Louisiana,
except in New Orleans, primarily due to availability and cost. Heroin
abuse in Louisiana, especially New Orleans, is historically cyclical.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Domestic Monitoring
Program, South American heroin is the most common type available. Mexican
heroin is also available in Louisiana. Mexican DTOs are the chief source
for heroin. Heroin is sold at the street level in bags or papers in one-half
gram quantities. The average purity level for New Orleans from February
to August 2005 was 33.04 percent. There was one seizure in the New Orleans
area in June 2005 with a purity level of 75.8 percent.
![Methamphetamine Lab Incidents: 2002=133, 2003=94, 2004=122, 2005=98, 2006=17](louisiana_meth2007.gif) Methamphetamine:
Methamphetamine continues to be a major drug threat in Louisiana.
Law enforcement reporting indicates that, in some areas, methamphetamine
is replacing crack cocaine as the primary drug threat due to its availability,
low cost and long lasting effects. Methamphetamine production and distribution
generates violent crimes and hazardous conditions. Most of the methamphetamine
available in Louisiana is produced in Mexico and the southwestern states
and is transported into Louisiana via Mexican DTOs. Illicit methamphetamine
laboratories discovered in Louisiana do not produce large enough quantities
for distribution throughout the state. Independent Caucasian groups are
the primary local producers and retail distributors of methamphetamine
in Louisiana. More Black Americans are becoming involved in methamphetamine
distribution.
Club
Drugs: Though most drugs are either declining
or holding steady in their abuse or distribution, "Club
Drug" abuse and
distribution among teenagers and young adults is on the rise in Louisiana.
Police and treatment counselors throughout the state report an increase
in the availability and abuse of MDMA (ecstasy), Ketamine, Rohypnol,
LSD, and GHB. GHB and MDMA are the drugs of choice and the end-users
are young Caucasians at all economic levels. MDMA from sources in California,
Texas and Florida is distributed to college aged youth. Counterfeit
pills are also sold to young adults as MDMA and have become an extremely
lucrative business in Shreveport nightclubs. Vietnamese trafficking groups
are now playing a role in the influx of MDMA into the New Orleans area.
Marijuana:
Marijuana continues to be the most commonly abused drug in Louisiana
and reports indicate that it is the gateway drug for teens and young
adults to experiment with other illicit drugs. High-grade marijuana is
available due to modern indoor cultivation techniques. Locally grown
marijuana is usually intended for local consumption; however, the cheaper
Mexico-produced product has made local production less profitable. Marijuana
is commonly transported into and through Louisiana via the primary transportation
routes which include Interstates 10, 12 and 20. Mexican DTOs control
the majority of the wholesale distribution of marijuana in the state.
Local independent dealers, street gangs and ethnic trafficking groups
distribute marijuana in the local retail market.
Other
Dangerous Drugs: Other
dangerous drugs are a continuing threat in Louisiana although not
to the extent of cocaine, methamphetamine,
marijuana and pharmaceutical drugs. The threat from “club” drugs
such as MDMA and GHB is steady throughout the state, especially among
teenagers and young adults. Club drugs are readily available throughout
the state, especially around college and university towns. Louisiana
has also seen an increase in the distribution and abuse of steroids.
Steroids are usually obtained via the Internet and received via postal
shipping services such as the United Postal Service, UPS and FedEX.
Pharmaceutical Diversion: The
abuse of pharmaceutical drugs continues to rise at an alarming rate.
Law enforcement officials report OxyContin, hydrocodone and Xanax abuse
continues to be a viable threat. Pharmaceutical drugs are diverted as
a means of distribution into the illicit market. Abusers and distributors
acquire pharmaceutical drugs via prescription forgeries and/or “doctor
shopping” in the diversion process. Some of the diverted pharmaceutical
drugs are brought into Louisiana from Mexico and Southwestern Border
cities usually by Caucasian local independent distributors. Many abusers
utilize the Internet to obtain prescription drugs from sources throughout
the United States, Europe, Canada and the Caribbean. Methadone overdoses
have risen significantly in the past few years. Pain management clinics
have opened in every major city in the state and pose an enormous threat
to the communities; however, after a major seizure in late 2005, the
threat in the New Orleans area has reduced. The pain management clinics
that are illegally prescribing narcotics to addicts are considered a “pill
mill.”
Drug Trafficking
Organizations (DTO): The presence of DTOs in Louisiana continues to be a significant
component
of the overall drug threat for the state. Street gangs, motorcycle
gangs, foreign DTOs and other local and regional organized groups have
established footholds in the state which aid in the trafficking of
illicit drugs. These groups rely upon their organizational strengths
and often times, coercion and fear. They utilize the established state
infrastructures and exploit the inadequacies of law enforcement resources
in an effort to prosper in their illegal endeavors.
Money Laundering: Louisiana continues to encounter traditional methods of money laundering.
Cash-intensive businesses, such as restaurants, bars and nightclubs,
as well as the local convenience stores, fishing industry, shipping
industry, casinos, tourism and long-standing business relationships
with source and transit countries create an environment conducive to
money laundering.
DEA Mobile Enforcement Teams: This cooperative program with state and local law enforcement counterparts was conceived in 1995 in response to the overwhelming problem of drug-related violent crime in towns and cities across the nation. Since the inception of the MET Program, 473 deployments have been completed nationwide, resulting in 19,643 arrests. There have been 17 MET deployments in the State of Louisiana since the inception of the program: Donaldsonville, Concordia Parish, New Orleans, Hammond, Slidell, Shreveport (2), Bogalusa, Houma, Baker/Zachary, Kenner, St. Landry Parish, Jefferson Parish, Alexandria (2), Lake Charles, and Ascension Parish.
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 Louisiana.
Special
Topics: HIDTA - The Gulf Coast HIDTA hosts the following DEA
initiatives in
Louisiana:
Caddo/Bossier HIDTA Task Force
Network Coordination Group/Intelligence
Coordination Network
Major Investigations Team I (Metairie, LA)
Major Investigations Team II (Metairie, LA)
Middle Louisiana Major Investigations
Team/Financial Investigations Team
(Baton Rouge, LA)
Southwestern Louisiana Major Investigations
Team/Financial Investigations Team
(Lafayette, LA)
More information
about the New Orleans Division Office.
Sources
Factsheet
last updated:
6/2007
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